Reauthorization
Basics
Despite Nods to Transit, House GOP Still All About Highways
In its annual “Views and Estimates” document [PDF], the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee indicates that when it comes to transportation policy, despite a few nods to transit, House Republicans still want to cut spending and let highway-centric state DOTs sort out the details. While the House transportation bill could be on its last legs, the document shows that the House GOP hasn't given up on its quest to eliminate street safety programs for walking and biking while giving a free hand to states to build more sprawl projects.
March 12, 2012
Trio of Experts Urge Passage of Bipartisan Transportation Bill
The Senate is finally making progress towards passing their two-year transportation bill, but the big question seems to be what's to come in the House -- and not even the House knows.
March 9, 2012
Day One of Votes: Senate OKs Two Amendments, Rejects Keystone Pipeline
After two consecutive failed attempts, floor votes are finally proceeding on the Senate's two-year, $109 billion transportation bill. The votes come on the heels of an agreement between party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, which will allow certain non-transportation-related amendments to be voted on. As part of the deal, those amendments will require 60 votes for passage instead of the customary simple majority.
March 9, 2012
Advocates: Private Transit Giant Lobbied House to Weaken Public Transit
The threat of service reductions and fare increases always loomed large over the transfer of Long Island Bus service to a private operator. After Nassau County refused to assume its share of costs for the service, international private transit provider Veolia Transport was brought on to take over from the New York MTA at the beginning of the year.
March 9, 2012
Senate Leaders Reach Deal on Transpo Bill, Setting Up Slew of Votes Today
The leaders of each political party in the Senate have reached a deal on their two-year, $109 billion transportation bill, clearing the way for as many as 10 votes on amendments to the bill later today.
March 8, 2012
Experts See No New Transportation Bill Before Election
Last May, Streetsblog ran an article with the headline "Experts Agree: Six-Year Transportation Bill Won't Pass This Year." A lot has happened since then, but we're still right where we started, butting up against a deadline with more than enough gridlock to give even optimistic experts pause.
March 7, 2012
Tomorrow’s Key Vote on Senate Transpo Bill Could Go Either Way
In interviewing a number of experts for an upcoming article about the prospects of passing a transportation bill, I've found a surprising amount of disagreement about whether the Senate bill will clear a key milestone tomorrow.
March 5, 2012
How the House and Senate Transportation Bills Changed Overnight
The sun rose this morning on a landscape considerably different from the one described by not one but two articles Streetsblog published yesterday.
March 2, 2012
Good News: Cardin-Cochran Amendment Incorporated Into Senate Bill
Majority Leader Harry Reid has incorporated much of the Ben Cardin/Thad Cochran amendment into the so-called "manager's mark" of the Senate transportation bill. The move means that the amendment's provisions letting local governments directly access funding from popular bicycle and pedestrian programs will be included in the bill without having to come up for a separate vote.
March 2, 2012
With Contraception Vote Over, Senate Can Finally Get to Transpo Issues
The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 today to reject an amendment to their transportation bill that would overturn measures in President Obama's signature health care law dealing with contraception coverage. The vote clears the way for the Senate to finally begin considering actual transportation issues rather than dealing with delay tactics.
March 1, 2012