Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Energy

Two Troubling Transportation Numbers for the Obama Administration

4:29 PM EST on February 4, 2010

Today brought news of two grim transportation numbers from the Obama administration: 2 and $53 million.

marta15.jpgAtlanta's Metro won a share of the emissions-cutting transit grants that the White House proposes to cut next year. (Photo: Atlanta Metblogs)

The first figure is the percentage of federal transport stimulus contracts that have gone to disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses, according to the U.S. DOT. The 2-percent figure was released this afternoon by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN), which included government emails verifying its data.

In real dollar terms, that 2 percent comes out to $986 million of the stimulus law's $48 billion in total transportation spending. The low total for disadvantaged and minority firms, known by the shorthand of DBEs, comes five months after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a $20 million bonding program aimed at helping less well-connected companies compete for federal business.

"This number is absolutely shocking," TEN executive director Laura Barrett said in a statement. "Secretary LaHood is
encouraging state DOTs to increase allocations to minority and disadvantaged
contractors, but this number proves that encouragement is not enough. The old
boys network that locks out minority contractors was built on the state and
local level, and it needs to be fought at that level to reverse this outrageous
inequity."

Anecdotal reports of minority contractors getting shortchanged by transportation stimulus spending have emerged in Illinois, Minnesota, and California, among other states. The 2005 federal transportation law states that at least 10 percent of federal roads and transit spending should be routed through DBEs, unless the Transport Secretary determines otherwise.

The second not-so-great transportation number, $53 million, reflects the total spending on pollution-reducing transit grants that the White House included in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2011.

The administration hopes to steer nearly 10 times that amount, or nearly $530 million, to its new three-agency partnership for sustainable communities. Still, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) pulled out the $53 million number today to note that the White House had proposed $22 million more for the same type of transit grants last year (and ended up spending $100 million).

From the EESI's budget statement (emphasis theirs):

A focus on livability is expected to have benefits for air quality,public health, energy savings, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Therest of the proposed budget, however, represents very little change inhow these issues and public goals are addressed. A special fund to helpreduce GHG emissions within FTA, in fact, saw a significant decrease from $75 million to $53 million.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Are Tired Out

Whether it's from degradation or the dust resulting from wear and tear, it's becoming increasingly clear that tire and brake emissions are harmful, perhaps even exceeding tailpipe emissions.

September 22, 2023

Study: What Road Diets Mean For Older Drivers

"After a road diet, all motorists seem to drive at a rate that feels comfortable to a mildly-impaired older adult."

September 22, 2023

Op-Ed: Why Is Fare Evasion Punished More Severely than Speeding?

A.B. 819 offers California the opportunity to decriminalize fare evasion and replace punitive measures with more equitable approaches.

September 21, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Local Culture and Development

We chat with Tim Sprague from Phoenix about supporting local culture through development projects and the importance of sustainable development and transportation.

September 21, 2023

City of Yes Yes Yes! Adams Calls for Elimination of Parking Mandates on ALL New Housing

Mayor Adams today announced the historic end to one of the city’s most antiquated — and despised — zoning laws requiring the construction of parking with every new development.

September 21, 2023
See all posts