Transportation Policy
Basics
Kerry: There’s a Narrow Window For GOP Cooperation on Pricing Pollution
The chief sponsor of the Senate climate change bill acknowledged today that there is a narrow window for Republican cooperation on the legislation, thanks to GOP resistance to its central goal -- putting a price on CO2 emissions.
November 4, 2009
The Senate Climate Bill Reaches a First Milestone Today — Maybe
The Senate environment committee is slated to begin formally voting on its climate change bill today in an atmosphere of high drama, thanks to Republican members who have vowed to boycott the proceedings in a bid to delay the legislative process.
November 3, 2009
Wall Street’s Infrastructure Tax Shelter Hits Transit — and the Feds Too
The previously wonky debate over the tax shelters known as "lease-backs" or SILOs (short for "sale in, lease out") went mainstream today thanks to a highly readable New York Times op-ed by New York University urban policy professor Michael Moss. He writes:
November 2, 2009
Obama Calls For ‘More Creative’ Ways to Pay For Infrastructure
At a meeting today with his outside economic recovery advisers, President Obama emphasized the importance of shoring up the nation's crumbling infrastructure but warned that the mounting federal deficit would require "more creative, new approaches to financing" investment in transit, bridges, and road repairs.
November 2, 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
The New Curveball: A $150 Billion Transportation Down Payment
At an event with Dick Durbin (IL), the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) today threw a curveball into Washington's ongoing back-and-forth over economic recovery, suggesting a $150 billion "front-loaded" transportation stimulus for next year.
October 29, 2009
Trucking Industry Likes Higher Fuel Prices — When They Help Truckers
To hear American Trucking Association (ATA) vice chairman Barbara Windsor tell the Senate environment panel today, truckers would face a grim economic future if the price of diesel fuel rises, as the ATA predicts would happen if Congress passes climate change legislation.
October 29, 2009
A Republican Returns to Congress With A Map to Transportation Reform
During his 24 years in Congress, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) was known for a brand of Republicanism now considered endangered. An ardent environmentalist and defender of objective government science, he played a key role in drafting the acid rain limits that are serving as a model for this year's climate change fight.
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
Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest
Halfway through this afternoon's rally in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally, walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its purpose. Once their curiosity was sated, the group lost interest and ambled away.
October 28, 2009