U.S. Senate
Basics
Deja Vu: Congress Could Put Off Deal on Transport Bill Until Next Month
After a day of twists and turns, the House yesterday approved a three-month extension of the current law that governs spending on the nation's transit, bridges, and roads. Yet the 335-85 vote obscures an ongoing clash between the House and Senate that could extend into a fourth straight month.
September 24, 2009
House Voting Today on Transport Law Extension — Or Not?
(ed. note: This post has been updated to reflect late-breaking news as of Wednesday afternoon.)
September 23, 2009
Pro-Gun Group: Senator Shows ‘Bigotry’ by Opposing Firearms on Amtrak
Thirty Democratic senators voted against yesterday's successful GOP bid to allow guns and ammunition in checked baggage on Amtrak -- but only one of the 30 is on the receiving end of a strongly worded attack today by gun-rights advocates.
September 17, 2009
Warner Scores a (Small) Win for White House’s Transportation Agenda
While it pushes for an 18-month delay in the next federal infrastructure bill, the Obama administration has proposed a data collection effort that would help states and localities begin tracking ridership and usage of transit, roads, buses, and the like -- a small put pivotal step towards enacting national performance standards for transportation.
September 17, 2009
Klobuchar & Webb: Dems’ Unlikely Opponents of Bike-Ped Investment
Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) attempt to curb federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian paths, as well as other "transportation enhancements," was defeated on the Senate floor today -- but it managed to pick up two unlikely Democratic supporters in the process.
September 16, 2009
More on McCain’s Anti-Transit and Coburn’s Anti-Bike Amendments
As Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered amendments striking money for more than 20 transit projects from the bill that funds the U.S. DOT next year.
September 15, 2009
White House Tells Senate: Grants No Substitute For Infrastructure Bank
The White House has reiterated its commitment to a national infrastructure bank (NIB), urging the Senate to reconsider a 2010 transportation spending bill that would "substitute in its place" $1.1 billion in grants.
September 11, 2009
Dodd Stays at Helm of Transit Panel — But at a Cost to Climate Bill?
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced this afternoon that he would stay on at the helm of the Banking Committee, which also has jurisdiction over federal transit issues, rather than move over to lead the health panel previously led by his friend, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
September 9, 2009
Compromise or Concession: Congress Faces Tough Transport Choices
Health care and transportation funding are very different items on Congress' to-do list, but the Washington Post's assessment of the former issue fits the latter as well: Lawmakers return today from a month-long recess to find a political landscape that has barely shifted from the impasse of late July.
September 8, 2009
Mmmm, This ‘Pork’ Sounds Tasty: Senators Serve Up Transit Aid
One of Washington's most enduring truisms is that "pork" is in the eye of the beholder. Self-styled anti-earmark crusaders are fond of bashing clean transportation projects as improper uses of taxpayer money, but most of them recognize privately that rail, bus, and bike investments are a good thing.
September 3, 2009