Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
James Oberstar

Oberstar Says Goodbye, Mica Promises Rail and a Long-Term Bill

Rep. Jim Oberstar said goodbye today after 36 years in the House, during which he helped pioneer federal support for biking and walking. "I go in peace of mind and heart, but with sadness," he said in his concession speech.

Oberstar says goodbye. Photo: ##http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/03/oberstar-political-career/##MPR##
Oberstar says goodbye. Photo: ##http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/03/oberstar-political-career/##MPR##

He said he wouldn't change or take back any of his votes for transportation, especially improvements in his own district. He refused to apologize for the stimulus, saying the infrastructure it paid for will be there for a hundred years.

Meanwhile, John Mica, the top Republican on the Transportation Committee - and its presumptive next chair - said in a statement:

If selected by my peers to chair the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the next Congress, my primary focus will be improving employment and expanding economic opportunities, doing more with less, cutting red tape and removing impediments to creating jobs, speeding up the process by which infrastructure projects are approved, and freeing up any infrastructure funding that’s been sitting idle.

Among my top legislative priorities will be passing a long-term federal highways and transit reauthorization... I will also focus on major initiatives to find ways within the Committee’s jurisdiction to save taxpayer dollars. That includes better management and utilization of federal assets, including real property, and more efficient, cost effective passenger rail transportation, including a better directed high-speed rail program.

Some reformers saw visions of high speed rail go down the toilet with the flip in Congressional power. Mica seems to indicate otherwise. Certainly, he'll be under pressure from his party - which reads yesterday's victory as a mandate for smaller government - to cut spending. But Mica supported Oberstar's $500 billion transportation bill, and he recognizes the benefits of transit. He'll need solid backup from advocates -- speaking with a fiscal-conservative message -- to convince his colleagues that infrastructure investment makes economic sense.

It looks like he's prepared to try.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Got DOGE’d Again

Amidst uncertainty about future federal funding, Amtrak is cutting $100 million and 450 jobs.

May 9, 2025

Friday Video: Where Was the First Public Bus Route in the World?

...and which surprising historical figure helped launch it?

May 9, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Normal’ is Not Correct, Someone Died Here

After a crash, the debris is quickly cleaned up and everyone moves on (usually too quickly). But these two experts are asking us to all slow down.

May 8, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Not Gonna Pay a Lot for This Truck

President Trump's tariffs, along with rising insurance costs, are driving down Americans' interest in owning a car.

May 8, 2025

How One Suburb is Using Transit to Transform Into a True City

A Washington State suburb may be poised to evolve into a true transit-oriented hub – and offer lessons for other bedroom communities, even during an anti-transit era.

May 8, 2025
See all posts