Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. DOT

New Report: Minority-Owned Businesses Left Out of Transport Stimulus

By Elana Schor | Dec 15, 2009 | No Comments

Women and minorities are getting shortchanged in the chase for transportation stimulus contracts, according to a report released today by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) and Good Jobs First. (Photo: WBEZ) Using federal procurement data — which, the two advocacy groups acknowledged, represents just a slice of the White House’s economic recovery pie — the […]

Wins For Washington (State): Transport Bill Resolves Two Local Debates

By Elana Schor | Dec 14, 2009 | No Comments

Tucked into the transportation spending bill that Congress approved over the weekend are two wins for Washington state’s senior senator, Patty Murray (D), who chairs the upper chamber’s transport budget-writing panel. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) (Photo: Seattle Times) Murray’s first victory deals with Bush-era rules for charter buses that barred local transit agencies from providing […]

32 Rail Companies Commit to Expanding in U.S. Under High-Speed Rail Plan

By Elana Schor | Dec 4, 2009 | 3 Comments

As the Obama administration and Congress keep a close eye on jobless numbers and the shrinking American manufacturing base, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that 32 rail companies that have promised to expand U.S. operations if they are chosen to help states build high-speed train networks. Transportation Secretary LaHood, at left, toured the Spanish […]

Consumer Group: White House Left Fuel-Efficiency Savings on the Table

By Elana Schor | Nov 24, 2009 | No Comments

The Obama administration’s proposal to raise auto fuel-efficiency (CAFE) standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 could have gone even further in order to reap the maximum environmental and economic benefits of cleaner cars, according to a new analysis [PDF] released today by the Consumer Federation of America. In his analysis, Consumer Federation research […]

‘This Needs Attention’: Senators Seek Shot in the Arm on Transportation

By Elana Schor | Nov 18, 2009 | No Comments

Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow lawmakers today pressed the Obama administration to take a more active role in ending the current political stalemate over federal transportation funding, but the sense of urgency they sought emerged only intermittently during an 80-minute session on infrastructure. Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary John Porcari (Photo: DayLife.com) […]

White House to Agencies: Prepare for Broad Spending Freeze or 5% Cut

By Elana Schor | Nov 12, 2009 | 1 Comment

Congressional deficit anxiety, always running high amid conservative Democrats, is reaching something of a fever pitch this week — while the White House prepares to ask most federal agencies for two alternative budgets for the fiscal year that begins next fall: one that freezes spending and one with a 5 percent cut. U.S. DOT headquarters […]

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