Transportation Policy
Basics
Senate Climate Bill to Feature Transport Carbon Cap — But No Trading
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are set to roll out their long-awaited, somewhat delayed climate change bill tomorrow without onetime co-sponsor Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
May 11, 2010
High-Speed Rail Lobbying Campaign Revives the “$4B” Rallying Cry
The lobbying coalition that helped prod Congress into approving $2.5 billion for high-speed rail last year -- twice as much as the Senate had originally set aside -- today kicked off a new campaign urging lawmakers to approve $4 billion for bullet trains next year and $2.6 billion for Amtrak.
May 11, 2010
First Lady’s Childhood Obesity Task Force Calls For Transportation Reform
The White House's inter-agency task force on childhood obesity, developed under the stewardship of First Lady Michelle Obama, today released a 124-page report recommending dozens of policy shifts in health care, community development, and transportation that it estimates can bring down obesity rates among kids by 5 percent over the next 20 years.
May 11, 2010
Shock or Yawn? Virginia’s GOP Governor Backs Highway User Fees
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who has won over many conservatives by reviving the state's recognition of Confederate History Month and attempting to declare the White House health care bill invalid within its borders, today proposed to add tolls to Interstate 95 along the North Carolina border.
May 10, 2010
Arizona Nixes Speed-Limit Enforcement Cameras
In the latest in a series of high-profile conservative moves, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's (R) administration has announced it will stop using cameras to enforce speed limits on the state's highways -- ending a program once billed as a boon to road safety that would also help raise revenue.
May 7, 2010
Centers for Disease Control: Transportation Reform is Health Reform
The connection between transportation and public health has slowly edged into the mainstream since Streetsblog Capitol Hill began covering it last year, first through a billion-dollar grant program added to Congress' sprawling health care bill and now in a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) brief that connects existing U.S. infrastructure with chronic disease, obesity, and premature deaths.
May 6, 2010
LaHood Answers GOP Critic, Soothes Dem Skeptic of Sustainability Budget
As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tangled with a senior GOP senator today over the White House's $500 million-plus request for its inter-agency office of sustainable communities -- a new project aimed at channeling federal energy towards local transit-oriented and smart growth plans -- an influential Democrat joined her fellow senator in raising questions about diverting highway money to the effort.
May 6, 2010
DeLauro Pushes Alternative to ‘Disappointing’ White House I-Fund
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today continued her push for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), lamenting the Obama administration's choice to pursue a $4 billion fund housed within the U.S. DOT rather than an independent entity focused on water, electricity, and other broader needs.
May 5, 2010
EPA Adopting ‘Fix-it-First’ Infrastructure Policy — For Water
Environmental groups have long called for a national "fix-it-first" standard to apply to new transportation projects, requiring states to focus on repair of existing infrastructure before constructing new lane miles. The approach has caught on in several state capitals, but not in Washington -- except when it comes to water infrastructure.
May 5, 2010
Expectations for High-Speed Rail Coming Down to Earth
Three months after the Obama administration announced the first winners of what it hopes will be the first of many federal grants to build U.S. high-speed rail networks, advocates and planners are settling in for a long battle to surmount the obstacles and unknowns that stand in the way of long-term bullet train development.
May 5, 2010