U.S. DOT
Basics
Battle Heats Up Over Pennsylvania Tolling, With National Implications
For more than two years, Pennsylvania transportation planners have sought federal permission to make I-80 one of only three interstates in America approved for tolling.
December 18, 2009
New Report: Minority-Owned Businesses Left Out of Transport Stimulus
Women and minorities are getting shortchanged in the chase for transportation stimulus contracts, according to a report released today by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) and Good Jobs First.
December 15, 2009
Wins For Washington (State): Transport Bill Resolves Two Local Debates
Tucked into the transportation spending bill that Congress approved over the weekend are two wins for Washington state's senior senator, Patty Murray (D), who chairs the upper chamber's transport budget-writing panel.
December 14, 2009
32 Rail Companies Commit to Expanding in U.S. Under High-Speed Rail Plan
As the Obama administration and Congress keep a close eye on jobless numbers and the shrinking American manufacturing base, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that 32 rail companies that have promised to expand U.S. operations if they are chosen to help states build high-speed train networks.
December 4, 2009
Consumer Group: White House Left Fuel-Efficiency Savings on the Table
The Obama administration's proposal to raise auto fuel-efficiency (CAFE) standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 could have gone even further in order to reap the maximum environmental and economic benefits of cleaner cars, according to a new analysis [PDF] released today by the Consumer Federation of America.
November 24, 2009
‘This Needs Attention’: Senators Seek Shot in the Arm on Transportation
Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow lawmakers today pressed the Obama administration to take a more active role in ending the current political stalemate over federal transportation funding, but the sense of urgency they sought emerged only intermittently during an 80-minute session on infrastructure.
November 18, 2009
White House to Agencies: Prepare for Broad Spending Freeze or 5% Cut
Congressional deficit anxiety, always running high amid conservative Democrats, is reaching something of a fever pitch this week -- while the White House prepares to ask most federal agencies for two alternative budgets for the fiscal year that begins next fall: one that freezes spending and one with a 5 percent cut.
November 12, 2009
How the $8.7 Billion Transportation Contracting Gap is Hitting Your State
Earlier this month, Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported on the fallout from Congress' failure to prevent an $8.7 billion "rescission" -- fancy legislative talk for the cancellation of funds -- from taking effect on September 30. Though media coverage focused largely on the rescission's impact on road projects, the lost money has hit clean transportation hard.
October 20, 2009
The Oversight Gap in Team Obama’s High-Speed Rail Plan
The White House's economic stimulus law included several large new spending programs, from $4 billion for broadband to $2.4 billion for electric car batteries. But nothing has aroused so much interest -- and criticism -- as the $8 billion for American high-speed rail.
October 15, 2009
New Orleans GOPer Still Sore at Jindal For Saying No to High-Speed Rail
Louisiana Republican Rep. Anh Cao (R) recently appeared with local Democrats at a press conference urging Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) to reconsider his refusal to support a high-speed rail link between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But it seems that Cao hasn't given up on prodding his fellow Republican.
October 14, 2009