Government Organizations
Basics
Senator Pat Toomey Fights to Spare America From Safe Streets
You know the Senate is close to passing transportation legislation when someone introduces a hare-brained amendment to ban bike and pedestrian programs.
June 25, 2014
And So Begins the Long Slog to the Lame Duck
The push for a long-term transportation bill is slowly giving way to the reality of an utter lack of consensus around a funding mechanism. The chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which is charged with finding that consensus, indicated today that the job just isn’t possible right now. The Hill reports that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has a bill in the works for a short-term extension to keep MAP-21 alive and funded, at least, until the end of the year.
June 24, 2014
Senators Murphy (D) and Corker (R) Propose 12-Cent Gas Tax Increase
There are several proposals on the table to stave off the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (which pays for transit, biking, and walking projects too) in two months. Just now, two senators teamed up to announce one that might actually have a chance.
June 18, 2014
Study: Corrupt States Spend More on Highways
A new academic study helps explain the enduring political popularity of expensive transportation boondoggles like Birmingham's $4.7 billion Northern Beltline and Kentucky's $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges.
June 6, 2014
House Bill Would Give Cities and Towns More Say Over Transpo Spending
A bill to give local governments greater access to transportation funds has bipartisan sponsors in the House of Representatives.
June 3, 2014
GOP’s Lunatic Plan for Funding Transportation Draws Nothing But Scorn
House Republicans announced on Friday the latest in a long line of hare-brained schemes for funding the Highway Trust Fund, which is projected to become insolvent in August. Their ingenious proposal is to pay for transportation by making cuts at the post office.
June 3, 2014
The House GOP’s Campaign Strategy: Do Nothing on Transportation
A Senate committee has unanimously approved a transportation bill. Three other Senate committees are holding hearings on the bill. But over in the House? Crickets.
May 29, 2014
Will Julián Castro Follow Shaun Donovan’s Smart Growth Path at HUD?
Losing Shaun Donovan at the helm of HUD was a blow for urbanists. This afternoon President Obama formally announced the nomination of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to replace Donovan as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. What will the transition mean for the agency, which under Donovan championed smart growth and the integration of transportation and housing programs?
May 23, 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
8 Takeaways From the Bike League’s Study of Cyclist Fatalities
When someone is killed while riding a bike in the United States, the most follow-up you'll usually see is a newspaper article or two. There's rarely a trial or a detailed examination of what went wrong.
May 22, 2014