U.S. Senate
Basics
Why Create an Infrastructure Bank When We Could Just Expand TIFIA?
There’s been a lot of adulation heaped upon the TIFIA loan program lately. Both houses of Congress are ready to increase funding for the program nine times over, from $100 million to $1 billion a year – despite warnings from outside groups that there may not be enough eligible projects to use up all that money.
October 28, 2011
Strike Three: Another Senator Takes Another Swipe At Bike-Ped Funding
Last month, the Senate's notorious vote-blocker, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, tried to obstruct Senate process until they voted on his measure to take bike/ped funding out of the transportation bill. He failed.
October 27, 2011
Senate Panel to Vote on Transportation Bill Next Month
While a House transportation bill still appears to be a long way off, the Senate is prepared to move forward on its version. EPW Committee leaders just announced that they'll be marking up their two-year bill November 9.
October 20, 2011
Transportation Enhancements Program Beats Back Another Assault
A Republican lawmaker purporting to be acting out of budgetary concern has, once again, taken aim at a popular active transportation program -- and, again, the Senate has rejected the effort.
October 19, 2011
Will New Infrastructure Funding Survive the Demise of Obama’s Jobs Bill?
Tuesday night, the Senate blocked a vote on the president’s jobs plan. As had been forecast, Republicans voted unanimously against the plan, and they weren't alone: Two Democrats joined them – Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Now it's on to Plan B, which involves breaking up the bill into pieces to be voted on separately.
October 13, 2011
McConnell Spoiling For a Fight Over Jobs Bill, House Passes Budget Extension
Amid prognostications that the jobs bill is "dead" -- including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's announcement that the House won't vote on the bill in its entirety -- Senate Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell said today that he's just itching for a vote on the Senate floor.
October 4, 2011
USDOT Tries to Resuscitate the HSR Dreams Congress Wants to Bury
High-speed rail has had a rough go of it lately. The House refused to give it a dime for next year, while the Senate only managed to allocate a fraction of what the president wanted. President Obama stuck some money back in via his jobs package, but it already seems clear that the package won’t pass as proposed, and we know high-speed rail is the always first for the chopping block.
October 4, 2011
Cantor Orders Up Tax Cuts, Hold the Jobs
Congressional insiders say that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is refusing to hold an "all or nothing" vote on President Obama's jobs bill. Cantor says he'll bring "elements" of the bill to the floor but not the whole bill.
October 3, 2011
Republicans Have Their Own Plan to Pay for Infrastructure Jobs: Oil Drilling
President Obama has proposed a plan to pay for the American Jobs Act, the $447 billion bill to create 1.9 million jobs, including $50 billion for infrastructure. His "pay-for" plan includes limitations on itemized deductions for the wealthy and the elimination of some tax loopholes for oil and gas companies.
September 30, 2011
Sen. Menendez Introduces Bill to Plan For Livable Communities
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has taken up where former Senator Chris Dodd left off. Last week, Menendez offered a fresh version of Dodd’s Livable Communities Act. The bill would formally authorize the HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and its Regional Planning and Community Challenge grant programs, restoring funding for those programs to 2010 levels.
September 28, 2011