Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. Senate

When Will Oberstar’s Transportation Bill Drop? Place Your Bets Now

By Elana Schor | Jun 10, 2009 | 1 Comment

At first it was slated to emerge by June 1. Then its release was said to slip to this week. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) now plans to release his version of the six-year federal transportation bill by the end of the month, with a full House vote unlikely to come […]

GOP-ers and Dems Agree: Feds Need to Get Their Transpo Act Together

By Elana Schor | Jun 9, 2009 | No Comments

Reports on federal transportation policy — like campaign fundraisers and lobbying groups — seem to proliferate in Washington, most of them drawing a few days’ worth of news coverage before fading from memory. (Remember the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission?) Former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), […]

Congress Takes a First Step Towards Reshaping Transportation Policy

By Elana Schor | May 14, 2009 | 4 Comments

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. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) (Photo by Washington Post) Today’s proposal, sponsored […]

LaHood: NYC’s Congestion Pricing Money Still There for the Taking

By Ben Fried | May 14, 2009 | 12 Comments

Speaking at an event in Midtown yesterday morning, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood let it be known that New York City can still claim hundreds of millions of dollars in federal transit funding — if local lawmakers implement congestion pricing. NY1 reports: The city was slated to receive about $350 million in federal transportation funds to […]

Senators Hear From Obama’s Transit Chief-in-Waiting

By Elana Schor | May 13, 2009 | No Comments

One of the Capitol’s sad, secret truths is that members of Congress often skip committee hearings on issues of vital importance to their states — and today’s confirmation session with Peter Rogoff, the president’s nominee to lead the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was no exception. Just three members of the Senate Banking Committee showed up […]

Boxer: Collect Fees on Driving Through ‘Honor System’

By Ben Fried | May 11, 2009 | 9 Comments

Another must-read from last week’s Reuters Infrastructure Summit: Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who will be responsible for shepherding the next transportation bill through the Senate, says she’s open to a mileage tax and to indexing the gas tax to inflation to generate new revenue. It’s great to hear a legislator in Boxer’s position voice […]

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