Reauthorization

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Senator Barbara Boxer, chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, just addressed reporters about the progress of the transportation bill.

Note: See follow-up post, "Boxer: Transpo Funding Will Rise in Senate Bill, Bike/Ped Will Be Preserved" for updates, including clarification that the new bill will fund transportation at current levels plus inflation and an expanded TIFIA program.

In an op-ed in Politico this morning, House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica (R-FL) calls for getting rid of waste and inefficiencies in the transportation system, shifting more power to the states, and “doing more with less.”

At times in this whole reauthorization process, it’s been hard to see the way forward. House Republicans refuse to deficit-spend their way out of the funding conundrum, and Democrats haven’t gotten behind a coherent plan to come up with more revenues, though they’re still arguing for a bigger bill. Still, I’ve been reporting on the bill as if it’s bound to happen, one way or another. Secretary Ray LaHood has been unflinching in his optimism that a bill will pass this year. But the more I talk to experts, I realize: this thing probably isn't going to happen.