Today’s Headlines

  • Transportation stimulus payouts neared $1 billion in September (JOC)
  • Boxer says the Senate climate bill could be up for a floor vote in time for the Copenhagen climate talks … (Reuters)
  • … but are the negotiations at risk of becoming the failed enterprise that Kyoto was? (Green Grok)
  • White House remaining on edge about job losses — but will more infrastructure spending be part of the response? (MarketWatch)
  • The Pennsylvania government is re-upping its push to toll I-80 (Philly.com)
  • LaHood visits Detroit’s port, talks up the city’s potential as a "midwest cruise-ship capital" (Free Press)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Senate Climate Bill Delayed Yet Again As Obama Takes Nobel

By Elana Schor |
As my colleague Ryan wrote earlier, the congressional climate change bill no represents the most meaningful path for urbanists, and advocates for clean transportation in general, to make their voices heard in the national debate. President Obama, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize today. (Photo: AP) So it bears repeating that the bill is losing momentum, […]

Senate’s Next Climate Hearing to Feature Big Oil-Backed Critics

By Elana Schor |
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) may have voted against the Senate environment committee’s climate bill yesterday, but The New Republic picked up on some pretty optimistic (for Washington) rhetoric from him on the issue this morning: (Photo: Baucus ’08) "There’s no doubt that this Congress is going to pass climate change legislation," he […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Check out the U.S. DOT’s new rules on positive train control for commuter rail (FRA Press) Oberstar to visit Oklahoma this week for an inspection of stimulus projects (AP) Congressional Democrats don’t want to talk about a gas tax increase, but the vice chairman of GM likes the idea (Messenger) Could the Senate climate bill […]

White House Staying Quiet For Now on Transit’s Role in Climate Bill

By Elana Schor |
Delivering his climate-change message to Congress yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned that fuel-efficiency advances secured by the Obama administration would not be enough to reduce emissions from transportation — not without encouraging Americans to drive less. Transportation Secretary LaHood said today he’ll weigh in later on climate-change money for transit. (Photo: HillBuzz) But when […]

5 Down, 5 to Go: Plan Linking Transit to Climate Bill Wins Sponsors

By Elana Schor |
Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported this week that the Obama administration — which often talks about reducing transportation-based emissions — is staying mum on a bill that would devote a guaranteed share of revenues from carbon regulation to transit, bike paths, and other green modes of transport. But that doesn’t mean the proposal, otherwise known as […]

How Important is a United Front on the Climate Bill?

By Elana Schor |
As fans of clean transportation and sustainable development join the push for a strong climate change bill to emerge from Congress, it’s worth remembering that not all environmental groups support the approach congressional Democrats have chosen. Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) (Photo: AP) Friends of the Earth (FoE) joined Greenpeace in opposing the House […]