Federal Funding
Basics
“Rally for Roads” Demands Transportation Funding Fix
This morning, the road construction industry rallied in front of the U.S. Capitol to demand that Congress invest in infrastructure. But some of the best-known transportation reformers in Washington were also on hand for an event that didn't focus on one mode over others.
June 11, 2014
Why the Senate Transportation Bill Will Devastate Transit
Transit officials lined up today to make clear that holding transit spending at current levels -- as the Senate’s transportation authorization bill does -- will put transit systems at risk of falling further into dangerous disrepair.
May 22, 2014
Sen. Bob Corker Sets Up for Gas Tax Increase, Yanks the Football
Last week -- Infrastructure Week, as it happens -- Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) sent an urgent plea [PDF] to the leaders of the Environment and Public Works Committee the day before they unanimously approved the committee's transportation reauthorization bill and sent it to the full Senate. Corker also sent his letter to the top members of the Finance Committee, who are actually in charge of finding funding for the bill, since the Highway Trust Fund alone comes $100 billion short.
May 20, 2014
Senate Transportation Bill Moves Forward With a Few Key Changes
The Senate’s proposal for the next transportation reauthorization took another step forward today with the unanimous approval of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The bill the members sent to the full Senate was slightly different from the one that was unveiled Monday night.
May 15, 2014
How the Federal TIGER Program Revived a Cleveland Neighborhood
Cleveland doesn't look like a dying Rust Belt city these days in the Little Italy and University Circle neighborhoods. In fact, it looks like it's thriving.
May 15, 2014
President Obama’s Hollow Push for Infrastructure Investment
This afternoon, President Obama stood by New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge and made a speech pressing Congress to do something about infrastructure investment. It’s part of his Infrastructure Week push for Congress to pass a fully funded transportation reauthorization bill. Many other groups are spending this week sounding the same horn.
May 14, 2014
GOP Appropriations Bill Would Turn TIGER Into a Roads Program
As the president’s transportation proposal fades from the news cycle and we eagerly await the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s six-year reauthorization bill, here comes the House Republicans’ proposed budget for transportation and housing for next year.
May 7, 2014
Uh-Oh: Senate Finance Committee Draws a Blank on Transpo Funding
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is on the verge of releasing its proposal to reauthorize the federal transportation program until 2021. But it's counting on the Senate Finance Committee to figure out how to pay for it. And that committee seems disturbingly far from an answer.
May 6, 2014
How the GROW AMERICA Act Could Modernize Federal Transportation Policy
Yesterday, U.S. DOT did something it hadn’t done for a decade: submit a surface transportation authorization bill to Congress.
April 30, 2014
Paul Ryan’s New Budget Seeks to “Murder” Amtrak
Just four months ago, the country was hailing a bipartisan budget deal negotiated by Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray and her House counterpart, Paul Ryan. It was a respite from the deeply partisan posturing over spending that has gridlocked Washington for years. Even better, it was a two-year budget resolution, meaning it seemed the next fight would be a long way off.
April 4, 2014