Tanya Snyder
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Recent Posts
Happy Holidays!
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You’ll be too busy spreading holiday cheer to read Streetsblog for the next couple weeks, so we figured we’d take some time off too. We won’t be posting much content until Congress comes back and the relaxing holiday break screeches to a halt on January 3. We will interrupt our break, however, to post nominations […]
Census Numbers Give Hint of What’s to Come in Washington
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The U.S. resident population has grown 9.7 percent over the last decade. There are now 308,745,538 of us here, according to brand-new numbers from the 2010 census. The states with the country’s dominant metropolitan areas aren’t growing nearly as fast as less dense states. And Congressional representation will follow suit. The state of Nevada had […]
Senate Vote Will Give GOP a Crack at the Transpo Bill Sooner
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A few weeks ago, members of the House threw up their hands and voted for a year-long extension of the 2010 budget. It included an extension of the transportation reauthorization. The Senate didn’t vote on it in time, so then the House voted for a three-day extension to give the Senate a few more days […]
LaHood: High Speed Rail Will Be Our Generation’s Legacy
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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood published an op-ed in the Sunday edition of the Orlando Sentinel, arguing for a vigorous campaign of high speed rail building. He said, “If we work together, a national high-speed-rail network can and will be our generation’s legacy.” Why run the op-ed in the Sentinel and not a national paper like […]
“Gravity Always Wins”: How the U.S. Can Face the Crisis of Unsafe Bridges
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If you left your grandma’s old wicker chair out on the porch all winter – and the next, and the next, and the next for 20 years – would you still trust that chair to hold you if you sat down? According to Barry LePatner, author of the new book Too Big to Fall: America’s […]
House Celebrates Norman Mineta, Ignores His Ideas
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Congratulations are in order for former DOT chief Norman Mineta. The House of Representatives just voted, 384 to 0, to honor his accomplishments. Unfortunately, they still can’t muster the votes to follow his urgent recommendations: that the country ramp up our investments in infrastructure, that we switch from a gas tax to a VMT fee, […]
Transit Riders Keep Same Tax Benefits As Drivers
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President Obama is about to sign the controversial tax-cut compromise into law, now that the House and Senate have both voted in favor of the bill. That means the transit benefit extension, hidden inside the $858 billion package, will become law as well. Nearly four years ago, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced a measure to […]
Rahall Confirmed as Top Dem, Mica Names New GOP Members of T & I
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Update: We just learned that Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) has been confirmed as the new Ranking Member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure just got a bunch of new members. Incoming Chair John Mica (R-FL) announced the Republican picks today. “The Committee and its new Republican Members will be […]
CA Mayors Ask Sen. Barbara Boxer for a 21st Century Transpo System
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Sixty-five elected officials representing a number of California cities are urging California Senator Barbara Boxer to push a new federal transportation bill that reforms spending and puts a focus on public transit, walking and biking, or “21st century needs.” Boxer, as chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, could play a […]
Don’t Waste the Next Two Years: A Blueprint for Reform Under GOP Control
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So longtime chair James Oberstar is gone from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Republicans in charge now are unlikely to take up a transportation bill as expansive as the one he proposed last year. That doesn’t mean transportation advocates should take the next two years off. In “Moving Past Gridlock: A Proposal […]
Transit Benefit (Wrapped in Tax Cuts) Clears the Senate
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The Senate voted 81-19 to support President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts this afternoon. Some of those Senators probably didn’t even realize that they were also voting to extend equal tax benefits for transit commuters, on par with parking credits. One Senator was certainly aware. Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey told […]
Inside the Bush Tax Cut Compromise is a Gift for Transit Riders
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No matter how you feel about extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, there’s one reason to hope it passes: it includes an extension of the transit benefit. The tax-free benefit for transit used to be capped at $120 a month, but the stimulus raised it to $230, on par with driving benefits. Ya-Ting […]