House of Representatives

The House and Senate are getting close to voting on a deal, reached over the weekend, to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending.

For much of this week, the House has been debating next year's appropriations bill for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. The bill includes harsh cuts to many key safety and environmental programs, including the EPA's Smart Growth Office. According to the Obama administration's statement of policy on the bill, "The bill terminates funding for EPA's Smart Growth program, which contributes to efforts to assist communities in coordinating infrastructure investments and minimizing environmental impact of development."

At a meeting with members of the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association Tuesday, House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica softened his stance somewhat on his plan to privatize the Northeast Corridor.

The summary of the House Transportation Committee’s reauthorization bill – no legislative text has been released yet – includes several provisions for “streamlining” project delivery. While on its face, a little streamlining could help reduce excessive delays and bring costs in line, environmentalists are concerned that underlying the “streamlining” provision is a desire to gut environmental review processes and stifle public input.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has examined the question of whether the GOP plan to privatize Amtrak’s most valuable corridor is constitutional – and it’s determined that it is not.

We were sad to see that Rep. Mica was sad to see that the Democrats were sad to see that the House transportation proposal is an unmitigated disaster for transportation policy.

First, to recap:

On the heels of John Mica’s announcement that the House GOP will pursue an austere transportation bill calling for $230 billion in spending over six years, House Democrats slammed the proposal, calling it “inadequate,” “mindless” and “very sad.”

The GOP transportation proposal is now online.