Today’s Headlines

House transport committee aides start acknowledging the uncomfortable truth: Despite Senate Dems’ vow to Voinovich, a new long-term federal bill could be delayed until 2011 (Bond Buyer)

Gauging the prospects, both political and practical, for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s transit-oriented development legislation (Next American City)

House takes up proposal to expand infrastructure-centric Build America Bonds (Dow Jones)

Amtrak makes its official budget request to Congress: $446 million for upgrades (Bloomberg)

The first stirrings of a crisis in local government financing rear their head in the mid-Atlantic (TNR’s The Avenue)

A roundup of the big obstacles to a successful Florida high-speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando (NYT)

Bans on digital roadside billboards become more popular, thanks to distracted driving concerns (USAT)

Do Chicago’s shorter yellow traffic-light times help or hurt safety? (Tribune)

San Diego tollway’s operators file for bankruptcy (Merc News)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

House Set to Pass Jobs Bill With Changes, Prompting Another Senate Vote

By Elana Schor | Mar 4, 2010

The House has just begun voting on the Senate jobs bill, which includes a $20 billion reprieve for the nation’s highway trust fund and an highway expansion of Build America Bonds — but though the legislation is expected to pass, it won’t be headed to the president’s desk yet. Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) (Photo: UPI) […]

Sen. Wyden Proposes TRIP Bonds to Fund Transportation

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 29, 2011

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is sort of the bond guy around the Senate. He’s a big fan of bonds as a way to raise money for infrastructure projects without much federal cost. Now he’s introduced a bill to create Transportation and Regional Infrastructure Project bonds. They’re different from Build America Bonds in several significant ways. […]

White House Tells Senate: Grants No Substitute For Infrastructure Bank

By Elana Schor | Sep 11, 2009

The White House has reiterated its commitment to a national infrastructure bank (NIB), urging the Senate to reconsider a 2010 transportation spending bill that would "substitute in its place" $1.1 billion in grants. Patty Murray (D-WA) heads the Senate panel in charge of U.S. DOT spending. (Photo: Seattle Times) In a statement of policy on […]

Road and Transit Groups Join Boxer to Push for Senate Jobs Bill

By Elana Schor | Feb 17, 2010

Representatives from Washington’s road and transit lobbies joined Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today to call for swift passage of job-creation legislation that is slated for a vote in the upper chamber of Congress on Monday. Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) (Photo: AP) Faced with the prospects of a GOP filibuster, […]

Dodd and DeLauro Vow to Get Infrastructure Bank Done This Year

By Elana Schor | Jan 20, 2010

Supporters from every corner of the transportation universe joined Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) today at a press event aimed at jumpstarting a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), which the two Connecticut lawmakers vowed to steer to passage this year. Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), above, founded BAF with […]

Senate Transit Bill Clears Committee With Unanimous Bipartisan Support

By Ben Goldman | Feb 2, 2012

While their colleagues in the House were debating more than 80 amendments to a transportation bill, members of the Senate Banking Committee were quietly passing their two-year transit bill with — get this — unanimous bipartisan support. The bill includes some reforms — such as allowing federal funds to be spent on transit operations — […]