Reauthorization
Basics
Boxer: Two-Year Transpo Bill Will Save 600,000 Jobs
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, says a transportation reauthorization bill needs to be passed soon in order to avoid the loss of 600,000 jobs in the construction and transit industries. She issued a call to action this morning, pushing for a new bill before the current extension of SAFETEA-LU expires on September 30.
July 6, 2011
Finally: Rustlings of a Reauthorization
First, the House and Senate pledged they'd have a bill marked up by Memorial Day. Then it was definitely going to come in June. (One staffer even told me that they were still planning on it coming "in the spring," so it would be before the summer solstice -- June 21.) But it looks like we might finally get a first glimpse of the fight ahead.
July 6, 2011
Rumor Mill: House Leadership Hostile to Transpo Reauthorization
A few weeks ago, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor published his list of bills the House will attempt to get through before the August recess. The transportation reauthorization was not among them.
June 28, 2011
The Economist Issues a Reality Check to Rail Privatization Proponents
The Economist's blog on business travel, Gulliver, has a short post this morning about Rep. John Mica's proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor. Blogger "N.B." has a healthy dose of skepticism for arguments on either side but does significantly more damage to Mica's argument that that of his opponents. Gulliver strikes a blow at the very idea that private companies can accomplish what Mica hopes they will:
June 27, 2011
Expect Two (Radically Different) Reauthorization Proposals Soon
The Environment and Public Works Committee is getting ready to introduce their transportation reauthorization bill, according to reports by the Journal of Commerce. The committee has, shrewdly, worked closely with Finance Committee Chair (and EPW leader) Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) on a way to pay for the bill, in order to avoid a situation like the one the administration found itself in: introducing an ambitious bill with no chance of passage.
June 24, 2011
Bike-Ped Defunding Proposal Sparks Mutiny in Mica’s Home District
The residents of Florida's 7th Congressional District must contend with some of the most dangerous pedestrian crossings in the country. And it's beginning to sound like they're tired of it.
June 21, 2011
House Transportation Committee To Begin Reauthorization Next Week
Correction: Only the rail portion of the bill, specifically the GOP proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor, will be rolled out next week. The rest of the bill, Mica said, will be introduced in the week after the July 4 recess, followed by a period for comment and public participation, and then a markup July 12.
June 15, 2011
Labor and Environmentalists Unite to Push for Transportation Reforms
The BlueGreen Alliance, a union of labor and environmental interests, has released its own vision for a transportation reauthorization. The alliance has made the reauthorization one of its top priorities for the year.
June 7, 2011
Highwayman Inhofe Still Wants to Rob Bike/Ped Funding From Transpo Bill
Last week, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) briefed reporters on the points of consensus reached by the four leaders of the Environment and Public Works Committee with regard to the transportation bill. In answer to a question by Streetsblog, she said that guaranteed federal funding for bike and pedestrian programs would be in the bill. She made it clear that bicycling and walking were important modes of transportation that deserve “good attention” in the bill.
June 3, 2011
Lawmakers Introduce Reality-Based Plan to Achieve “Freedom From Oil”
Members of Congress of all stripes are trying to show that they’re concerned and responsive to the financial strain caused by high gas prices. Some are recommending more oil drilling. Some want to end subsidies to oil companies. Today, members of the Congressional Livable Communities Task Force suggested that providing more diverse transportation options to more people might help.
June 2, 2011