House of Representatives
Basics
Lawmakers Reject House Starvation Levels For Transportation
A small but bipartisan group of lawmakers today sent a letter to the leaders of the House Transportation Committee, urging them to act quickly to pass a bill with adequate funding to meet the country’s needs -- “higher than or at least equal to the current funding level.”
July 6, 2011
The Economist Issues a Reality Check to Rail Privatization Proponents
The Economist's blog on business travel, Gulliver, has a short post this morning about Rep. John Mica's proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor. Blogger "N.B." has a healthy dose of skepticism for arguments on either side but does significantly more damage to Mica's argument that that of his opponents. Gulliver strikes a blow at the very idea that private companies can accomplish what Mica hopes they will:
June 27, 2011
NJ Rep. Frelinghuysen Goes After HSR Money Destined For His Own State
As towns flanking the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers continue to be inundated with historically high water, it’s good to see Congress taking action to provide some relief. Unfortunately, that relief comes on the back of high-speed rail programs.
June 23, 2011
Mica Extends Olive Branch to Amtrak, Dems Pound Rail Privatization Plan
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), the top Democrat on the Railroads Subcommittee, began her remarks at yesterday’s Transportation Committee hearing like this:
June 23, 2011
Rahall, Brown Say Dems Must Be Consulted on Rail Privatization
The top Democrats with jurisdiction over rail in the House are asking for a little old-time bipartisan cooperation in the Transportation Committee. They’re complaining that Republicans have shut them out of the process on one of the most important, game-changing proposals to come down the pike in a while: taking the Northeast Corridor away from Amtrak and putting it in private hands.
June 16, 2011
House Plan to Privatize Northeast Corridor Retains Public Ownership
Under the House Republicans’ proposal to bring more private competition to the nation’s most valuable transportation asset, the Northeast Corridor would remain in public hands. Transportation Committee Chair John Mica (R-FL) made clear that under his and Rail Subcommittee Chair Bill Shuster’s plan, “the public maintains ownership of the corridor; we’re not giving it to any private firm.”
June 15, 2011
House Transportation Committee To Begin Reauthorization Next Week
Correction: Only the rail portion of the bill, specifically the GOP proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor, will be rolled out next week. The rest of the bill, Mica said, will be introduced in the week after the July 4 recess, followed by a period for comment and public participation, and then a markup July 12.
June 15, 2011
Lawmakers Introduce Reality-Based Plan to Achieve “Freedom From Oil”
Members of Congress of all stripes are trying to show that they’re concerned and responsive to the financial strain caused by high gas prices. Some are recommending more oil drilling. Some want to end subsidies to oil companies. Today, members of the Congressional Livable Communities Task Force suggested that providing more diverse transportation options to more people might help.
June 2, 2011
What The Debt Ceiling Vote Means For Transportation
Yesterday, the House of Representatives took a “symbolic” vote on raising the debt ceiling without any “strings attached” – i.e., the trillion dollars worth of spending cuts the Republicans are insisting on before they’ll agree to raise the debt ceiling.
June 1, 2011
GOP Proposal to Privatize the Northeast Corridor Meets Resistance
House Republicans, led by Transportation Committee leaders John Mica (R-FL) and Bill Schuster (R-PA), have a plan to take the Northeast Corridor out of Amtrak’s control and privatize it. They’ve long called Amtrak a “Soviet-style operation” that loses money.
May 27, 2011