Transportation Policy
Basics
Senate to Take Up Mysterious ‘Jobs Bill’ — Is Infrastructure in the Mix?
The notion of a "front-loaded" infrastructure bill to counter the rising U.S. unemployment rate has been circulating in Washington for some time, though solid details on such a measure have yet to emerge.
November 11, 2009
Clinton’s Budget Director Backs Congestion Pricing, VMT Tax
Alice Rivlin, now at the Brookings Institution, is one of the capital's most experienced economic hands.
November 10, 2009
Maryland: A Case Study in the Lack of Political Will to Fund Transportation
As national policymakers hunt for a sustainable way to raise more money for a more efficient, less polluting transportation system, raising the federal gas tax is often at the top of their list -- after all, the tax has remained stagnant since 1993, despite signs that its usefulness is eroding as American drivers choose more fuel-efficient cars.
November 10, 2009
The Wall Street Transportation Tax: Predictably Unpopular On Wall Street
As Congress mulls over solutions to the nation's transportation funding gap, with an eye to passing new infrastructure legislation to reverse the rising unemployment rate, Rep. Pete DeFazio's (D-OR) proposed tax on oil futures is picking up new fans in high places.
November 9, 2009
GOP Chief Steele on Infrastructure Spending: ‘That’s Not Creating Jobs!’
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele appeared on ABC News yesterday, and Daily Kos' Jed Lewison caught him making a pretty strange argument against federal spending to improve the nation's infrastructure.
November 9, 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
‘No Road That We Built in Texas Paid For Itself’
Over the past two days at the Congress for the New Urbanism Project for Transportation Reform conference, attendees have called for reform at local, regional, and
national levels. In a panel debate about the future of transportation funding and the
role of regional planning through MPOs, several speakers argued that
the foundation of transportation and development funding had to be
systematically overhauled.
November 6, 2009
‘The Concrete is Cracking’: Front-Loaded New Transport Bill Gains Steam
With the U.S. unemployment rate hitting 10.2 percent today, its highest level in 26 years, a palpable shift is occurring on Capitol Hill.
November 6, 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
What Does Virginia’s New Governor Owe the State on Transportation?
In a lean season for in-depth transportation debate, the Virginia gubernatorial contest -- won this week by Republican Bob McDonnell -- became a proving ground for nationally relevant questions about how to manage the infrastructure of congestion-plagued but still-growing metro areas.
November 5, 2009