Recent Streetsblog USA posts about House of Representatives

Koch-Funded Groups: Cut All Federal Funding for Walking, Biking, Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 29, 2015 | 57 Comments

You know it’s time to fight over the federal transportation bill when the fossil fuel-soaked elements of the conservative movement start agitating to stop funding everything except car infrastructure. Yesterday, a coalition of 50 groups, several funded by the Koch brothers, sent a letter to Congress arguing that the way to fix federal transportation funding […]

DeFazio, Norton, and Larsen Take on Dangerous Street Design

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 18, 2014 | No Comments

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) is already proving that he’ll put some muscle into the fight for bike and pedestrian safety in his new post as ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. DeFazio and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), top Democrat on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, have signed on to fellow T&I […]

Congress Gives Itself More Free Parking Than Its Own Rules Allow

By Will Handsfield | Nov 24, 2014 | 11 Comments

As TransitCenter and the Frontier Group reported last week, the federal government pays a huge $7.3 billion subsidy to people who drive to work by making commuter parking expenses tax exempt. There are countless reasons for Congress to scrap this poorly-conceived, congestion-inducing subsidy. While policymakers consider the big picture, they also ought to examine how […]

Lawmakers Could Finally Equalize Benefits for Transit and Parking This Year

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 12, 2014 | 14 Comments

It’s time to rev up the annual fight over parity between federal transit and parking benefits for commuters. Members of Congress hope this might finally be the year to get it done. This morning, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) announced that they will, again, push to equalize the tax benefits available to […]

Top House Dem on Transportation, Nick Rahall, Lost His Seat. That’s OK.

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 5, 2014 | 3 Comments

Four years ago, another stunning night of GOP victories took out Representative Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who chaired the House Transportation Committee. Had Oberstar kept his seat, the new GOP majority would have cost him the gavel, but he would have continued as ranking Democrat. Instead, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia coal country […]

Congress Hits the Snooze Button on Transpo Funding Until May

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 1, 2014 | 8 Comments

Someone had to cave and last night, it was the Senate. The upper chamber had fought as long as it could to adjust the House transportation bill so it wouldn’t expire when the GOP controls both chambers of Congress. But senators were never willing to actually let the Highway Trust Fund go broke. U.S. DOT would […]

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