U.S. DOT
Basics
Feds’ Record on Transport Public-Private Partnerships Prompts Skepticism
When it comes to creative transportation financing in an age of rising red ink, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are one of the most popular ideas on the table in Washington. Rail planners in Denver and Dallas are exploring the strategy to speed progress on new lines, and the White House's proposed $4 billion infrastructure fund could provide seed money for PPPs all over the country.
April 14, 2010
Coming Soon to Popular Transport Stimulus Programs: Local Funding
Two of the most popular transportation programs in the Obama administration's stimulus law, the $1.5 billion in competitive grants known as TIGER and the $8 billion high-speed rail initiative, had an added feature that made them even more attractive to cities and states: the federal funding awards would not require a local match.
April 7, 2010
Pennsylvania’s Bid to Toll I-80 Rejected by Feds
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) has scheduled a press conference this afternoon to discuss his pitch for new tolls on Interstate 80, but local media reports are already suggesting that his news is not good: the federal government has rejected the state's bid to toll the highway, leaving its transportation budget short at least $450 million.
April 6, 2010
Final Obama Fuel-Efficiency Rule Gives Breaks to Electric, Luxury Cars
The Obama administration today released its final rule raising U.S. auto fuel-efficiency standards to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, winning plaudits from environmental groups while offering extra benefits to makers of electric and luxury cars.
April 1, 2010
As Minneapolis Joins NACTO, Oberstar Backs Shift on Transit Operating Aid
At an event in Minneapolis today, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) announced his support for giving urban transit agencies more flexibility to spend federal transportation formula money on operating -- a change in the current law that has already won the backing of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood but has split the transit industry.
March 30, 2010
Inhofe: California is Dictating to Feds on Auto Fuel Efficiency
The senior Republican on the Senate environment panel has criticized the House transportation bill for strengthening federal involvement at the expense of states -- but when it comes to last year's agreement to raise national fuel-efficiency standards, Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK) is making the opposite argument, accusing the White House of letting one state dictate auto policy.
March 22, 2010
McCaskill Asks LaHood to ‘Put an End to’ Transportation Earmarks
When House leaders agreed last week to ban earmarks to for-profit entities, tax and transportation projects got a notable exemption. But that doesn't mean Congress has no appetite to curb transport earmarks, as Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) showed in a letter sent this week to U.S. DOT chief Ray LaHood.
March 18, 2010
As Geithner Touts Infrastructure, Skepticism Persists on $4B ‘I-Fund’ Plan
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, considered a skeptic of transportation stimulus spending by some lawmakers, yesterday joined two other White House economic advisers in endorsing new infrastructure investment as a means to
jump-start the economy.
March 17, 2010
LaHood Reaches Out to Transit Industry, Lamenting ‘Lousy Economy’
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sought to commiserate with the cash-strapped transit industry today, declaring the Obama administration an ally of local rail and bus agencies even as the "lousy economy" clouds prospects for passage of a new long-term federal transportation bill.
March 15, 2010
Bike-Ped Access to Cleveland’s New Bridge Picking Up Political Support
The push to add a bike-ped lane to Cleveland's planned new Cuyahoga River bridge, a replacement for the crumbling Innerbelt span, is picking up new political support this week after a local advocacy campaign.
March 12, 2010