Safety
Basics
Report: After MN Collapse, Bridge Repair Got Just 11% of D.C. Earmarks
In the wake of the 2007 collapse of Minnesota's I-35 bridge, Washington policymakers vowed a renewed focus on repairing the nation's aging infrastructure. But weeks after the fatal collapse, Congress approved a transportation spending bill with 704 earmarked projects, at a total cost topping $570 million -- and just 11 percent of those earmarks went towards bridge repair, according to a new report released today.
November 12, 2009
New Report Maps the Gap Between Pedestrian Risks and Federal Safety Aid
If the equivalent of one jumbo jet full of Americans died every month, the resulting public outcry would be deafening. Or would it?
November 9, 2009
Distracted Driving Debate Continues in Congress as Consensus Looks Elusive
After three public hearings in one week on the increasingly hot-button issue of distracted driving, Congress appears no closer to answering the question of whether a punitive strategy for encouraging state-level action -- such as threatening to withhold highway funds -- can win sufficient support from conservatives.
November 6, 2009
To Limit Distracted Driving, Congress Leans Toward a Carrot-Stick Combo
Partisanship is a fact of life in Washington, often slowing down progress on issues from health care to climate change. But when it comes to preventing the use of electronic devices behind the wheel, a congressional consensus is emerging in favor of federal action -- even as the extent of GOP support for a punitive approach remains decidedly unclear.
November 2, 2009
Inhofe Blasts Transport Bill Inaction That Comes From His Own Party
The Senate environment committee's senior Republican, Jim Inhofe (OK), delivered a stern warning today to any lawmakers who would force another short-term extension of federal transportation programs, which are set to expire at midnight Saturday.
October 29, 2009
Senior Dems Release New Distracted Driving Bill as LaHood Testifies
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today unveiled his plan to take an incentive-based approach to distracted driving as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified on the Obama administration's campaign to end the use of electronic devices behind the wheel.
October 28, 2009
Senior Dem Senator to Offer Competing Plan to Limit Distracted Driving
Few if any policy-makers are prepared to defend the dangerous practice of using cell phones and texting behind the wheel. But even as reining in distracted driving gets a higher profile, there is some difference of opinion over whether to use carrots or sticks.
October 15, 2009
House GOPer Goes ‘All Aboard for Gun Rights on Amtrak’
Rep. Peter King (NY), the senior Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, has strongly criticized a Senate-approved provision that would force Amtrak to allow guns on board -- but some of King's colleagues fired back yesterday by introducing a counterpart to the Senate's proposal.
October 15, 2009
Senior House GOPer: We Shouldn’t Force Amtrak to Allow Guns on Board
Rep. Peter King (NY), the House Homeland Security Committee's senior Republican, has joined panel chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) in urging congressional leaders to abandon a pending provision that would threaten Amtrak with loss of federal funds if it did not allow guns in checked baggage.
October 13, 2009
Bloomberg and Dems Blast Congressional Plan to Let Guns on Amtrak
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg teamed up with two Democratic members of Congress yesterday to blast the Senate for its vote in favor of forcing Amtrak to allow guns and ammunition in passengers' checked baggage.
September 21, 2009