Transportation Policy
Basics
The Upside of GOP ‘Hypocrisy’ on Transportation Stimulus Grants
To call Rep. Pete Sessions (TX), chairman of the House Republican campaign committee, a critic of the Obama administration's stimulus law would be putting it mildly. Sessions marked the one-year anniversary of the law's passage last week by labeling the stimulus a "massive spending binge" that only "allegedly" created jobs in his district.
February 22, 2010
Alongside LaHood in L.A., Boxer Talks Timing for the Next Transport Bill
Friday was billed as a day to discuss the next long-term federal transportation legislation, but the day turned in to a stirring defense of the Obama administration's economic stimulus law and ended with a commitment
from Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to do all she could to help turn Los
Angeles into a transit town within the next 10 years.
February 22, 2010
Who Lost Out in the Bid for a Piece of TIGER Transportation Stimulus?
With more than $56 billion in applications submitted for just $1.5 billion in available funding, the Obama administration's TIGER grants -- short for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery -- was one of the stimulus law's most hotly contested programs. So it's no surprise that the process resulted in its share of losers as well as winners.
February 17, 2010
Freight Rail, Streetcars Are Tops in Stimulus’ TIGER Chase
The Obama administration today announced the winners of $1.5 billion stimulus in highly competitive stimulus grants under the program known as Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER. Southeastern and midwestern freight rail projects were the day's biggest winners, with urban streetcar projects also making a big splash.
February 17, 2010
White House Economic Report Touts TIGER, High-Speed Rail, Transit
The White House Council of Economic Advisers' first annual report under President Obama made headlines today for its gloomy job-creation outlook, but tucked inside its 462 pages is a tangible reflection of a changed outlook on transportation policy under the new administration.
February 12, 2010
Bipartisan Senate Jobs Bill Has Highway Trust Fund Rescue But No TIGER
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and his panel's senior Republican, Chuck Grassley (IA), today offered a job-creation proposal designed to garner enough GOP votes to overcome an anticipated filibuster.
February 11, 2010
D.C., VA, MD to Apply for Federal Aid as Snow Eats Into Transport Budgets
Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are set to apply for federal disaster aid to offset the costs of cleanup from this month's record-breaking mid-Atlantic blizzards, according to the Washington Post reports today. But the so-called Snowpocalypse could dent more than just worker productivity -- already crunched transportation budgets are also on the line.
February 11, 2010
The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?
The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that "a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes" and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel tax revenues mean that tax rates need to go even higher.
February 10, 2010
New Report Maps a High-Speed Rail Link For Every Major U.S. City
Now that the Obama administration has awarded $8 billion in high-speed rail grants to more than two dozen states, with $2.5 billion more coming soon, why not keep thinking big when it comes to bullet-train expansion?
February 9, 2010
EPA and HUD Make Big Investments in Sustainable Development
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are making significant progress on their joint effort, with the U.S. DOT, to connect cleaner transportation options with affordable housing and denser urban development.
February 8, 2010