House of Representatives
Streetsblog Basics
Don’t Count Out HR 7 Yet: House GOP Could Revive Their Bill This Week
Last week, when House Speaker John Boehner indicated his willingness to bring up the Senate transportation bill, it seemed like an admission of defeat for the brazenly partisan approach and insanely destructive policies the Republicans have been promoting. But it’s not over yet.
March 13, 2012
How the House and Senate Transportation Bills Changed Overnight
The sun rose this morning on a landscape considerably different from the one described by not one but two articles Streetsblog published yesterday.
March 2, 2012
Americans Can’t Afford a Highway-Centric Transportation Bill
Gas prices, you may have heard, are on the rise again. And so is pandering about pain at the pump. Four years after $4 a gallon gas spawned "Drill, Baby, Drill" and insane political gimmickry on the presidential campaign trail (remember the "gas tax holiday" favored by John McCain and Hillary Clinton?), gas price populism is back with a vengeance.
February 27, 2012
Encouraging News on Transit, But Serious Flaws Remain in House Transpo Bill
Hold that victory lap: While it's true that House Republicans are revamping their transportation bill, it's time once again wait and see just how bad the bill still is.
February 24, 2012
GOP Will “Revamp” H.R. 7 and Reportedly Restore Dedicated Transit Funding
While there is no official statement yet, sources on the Hill (and CQ for subscribers) are saying that House Republicans are revamping their 5-year, $260 billion transportation bill and will discard their proposal to eradicate the dedicated transit funding mechanism enacted by Ronald Reagan in 1983. The bill is unlikely to see floor debate next week.
February 23, 2012
House Bill Delayed, But Transit, Biking, and Walking Aren’t Safe Yet
Congress is in recess, and the House's atrocious transportation bill has been dismembered and delayed, but if you want to preserve funding for transit and active transportation, don't let your guard down yet. There's still plenty to watch out for as the House and Senate attempt to reauthorize federal transportation programs. As we've reported, there are some stark differences between the House and Senate bills. But what is scariest may be their similarities.
February 22, 2012
Flashback: Ronald Reagan Touts Gas Tax Hike, Transit Funding as Job Creators
On January 6, 1983, the icon of the modern conservative movement, Ronald Reagan, signed legislation to raise the gas tax for the first time in more than two decades, devoting a portion of the revenue to transit.
February 16, 2012
Blumenauer: Don’t Let American Streets Remain Unsafe Routes to School
Yesterday the House debated the GOP leadership's oil drilling-with-a-side-of-highways bill, which may or may not survive the House floor.
February 16, 2012
House Speaker John Boehner Will Delay Vote on House Transpo Bill
First, John Boehner split his transportation bill into three smaller bills that deal with transportation, oil and gas drilling, and government employee pensions separately. Now, it looks like the transportation component won't be voted on until after the President's Day recess, according to Politico:
February 15, 2012
Obama Takes a Stand, Threatens to Veto House Transpo Bill
The White House issued a statement yesterday that spelled out President Obama's opposition to the House transportation bill, also known as H.R. 7. The administration's statement of policy, which coincided with the House Rules Committee hearing on H.R. 7, takes a stand in defense of transit, safety, and the environment:
February 15, 2012