2009 Transportation Bill
Streetsblog Basics
House GOPers Propose Filling Trust Fund With Stimulus Money
As their committee's leaders butted heads with the Obama administration, a group of Republicans on the House transportation panel proposed to fill the $7 billion hole in the nation's highway trust fund with unobligated money from the economic stimulus law.
June 19, 2009
House Transpo Leaders United — in Frustration With the White House
Senior members of the House transportation committee today fired a warning shot at those pushing an 18-month extension of existing federal law, putting the Obama administration and key senators on notice that their $450 billion proposal would move forward this year.
June 18, 2009
The Oberstar Bill: What About the Highways-Transit Split?
As transit fans and policy wonks digest the details of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar's (D-MN) new proposal, one question is coming to mind: Does it change the typical 80-20 split in the percentage of funding that goes to highways versus transit?
June 18, 2009
Oberstar’s New Transportation Bill: Get the Highlights
Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), the House transportation committee chairman, is set to brief reporters this afternoon on his $450 billion, six-year federal transportation bill -- which he plans to pursue regardless of the Obama administration's push for an 18-month extension of existing law.
June 18, 2009
LaHood Asks for 18-Month Extension of Four-Year-Old Transpo Law
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is asking Congress to extend the existing federal transportation law for 18 months, averting the coming insolvency of the nation's highway trust fund while putting off broad-based transport reform for as long as the Bush administration did in the days surrounding the 2004 election.
June 17, 2009
Oberstar to Release Transportation Outline on Wednesday
Jim Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will release a "white paper" on his plans for the upcoming federal reauthorization bill in a press conference on Wednesday.
June 15, 2009
Illinois Congressman Pushes for Pro-Bike Transportation Bill
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), an early supporter of the congressional "complete streets" bill, is circulating a letter to his House colleagues that urges support for pro-bike provisions in the upcoming federal transportation bill. Here's how Lipinski put it:
May 19, 2009
The Long, Ugly Road to a Federal Transportation Plan
Come September 30, Congress has to have a plan in hand to fund the nation's trains, buses, bikes, bridges and roads -- or pass an extension of the 2005 federal bill, locking in the same spending patterns that have nurtured Americans' addiction to the automobile. But the odds are that you haven't heard much about how the process works. What has to happen in order for Congress to meet that September deadline? Let's break it down a bit.
May 19, 2009
Congress Reluctant to Shine Light on Transportation Earmarks
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is about to unveil a massive bill that will re-authorize federal transportation programs for the next six years. The bill will also include funding for a large number of "earmarks," the congressional pet projects that can include everything from bike trails to Bridges to Nowhere.
May 18, 2009
Congress Takes a First Step Towards Reshaping Transportation Policy
Could Washington's long, unhealthy love affair with the automobile be coming to an end? An encouraging sign of change came today from two powerful Democratic senators who released a proposal that sets out progressive goals for the upcoming federal transportation bill.
May 14, 2009