Talking Headways Podcast: Catching Up With Congressmember Earl Blumenauer

By Jeff Wood
Oct 12, 2017

This week’s episode transports us back to September and the Rail~Volution conference in Denver, where I spoke to Congressmember Earl Blumenauer. Representing Oregon’s 3rd District, which includes parts of Portland, Blumenauer is one of the most outspoken voices on Capitol Hill for policies that support bicycling and transit. In this conversation, he discusses how Rail~Volution got its start, how we can use congestion pricing and road user charges to pay for transportation, Vision Zero, and why urbanists should be thinking about the Farm Bill.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Congestion Pricing Can Cure Inequitable Transportation

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 30, 2019

The best way to ensure that congestion pricing doesn't hurt the poor is to make sure revenues from new tolls support better transit service — not just build more highways.

Even the Godfather of Rail~Volution Wouldn’t Raise the Gas Tax Right Now

By Tanya Snyder | Oct 19, 2011

At Rail~Volution yesterday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) — also known as the godfather of the “rail~volution” — said even he wouldn’t raise the gas tax right now. “We should make some adjustments to a gas tax that hasn’t increased since 1993,” Blumenauer said. “Half the people think the gas tax goes up every year.” He […]

Lawmakers Push to Permanently Upgrade Transit’s Second-Class Tax Benefit

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 10, 2013

While the rest of the Capitol prepared for President Obama’s visit to lobby members of Congress on Syria military strikes, three lawmakers gathered under the hot sun with transit advocates to push for a more bread-and-butter issue: tax benefits for transit riders. For years, car commuters could claim up to $240 per month in tax-free […]

How Would Blumenauer’s New Commuter Benefit Proposal Work?

By Tanya Snyder | May 11, 2011

If you drive to work, you can get a $230 monthly parking benefit, subsidized by the federal government and paid through your employer. If you take transit, right now you can get up to $230 per month, but the cap may revert to $120 when the current transit benefit law expires this fall. And if you […]

GAO: Mileage Fee Could Be More “Equitable and Efficient” Than Gas Tax

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 14, 2013

While governors debate raising (or eliminating) their states’ gas taxes, buzz is building about mileage-based fees, or a vehicle-miles-traveled charge. A House provision to ban U.S. DOT from studying such a fee has gone away (along with its sponsor), while Rep. Earl Blumenauer is trying to get the Treasury Department to look into how it could […]

Concrete Proposals for Raising Gas Tax Finally on the Table

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 3, 2013

After a lot of vague talk about transportation revenues since the passage of MAP-21 — “everything is on the table” and “we need to think outside the box” — real proposals are finally being presented. A few months ago, House Transportation Committee Chair Bill Shuster told me, “The surest way to kill something is to […]