Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. Senate

Senate Transpo Bill Sinks Under the Weight of Its Own Chicanery

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 23, 2015 | 2 Comments

Last night, the Senate voted to proceed with the consideration of the transportation bill Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Barbara Boxer had worked out. It was just a day after the body had voted to block progress, objecting that they hadn’t had time to even look at the bill. The policy elements of the […]

Senate Committee Moves to Eliminate TIGER Program in Next Transpo Bill

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 14, 2015 | 5 Comments

The Republican-controlled Senate is poised to eliminate the TIGER program, one of the few sources of federal funds that cities can access directly to improve streets and transit. While the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s outline for its portion of a six-year bill was a marginal improvement on the status quo, the Commerce Committee’s portion, known […]

Senate Committee Passes DRIVE Act Unanimously After Some Tinkering

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 25, 2015 | 2 Comments

Given the bipartisan gushing that accompanied the release of the DRIVE Act on Tuesday, it came as no surprise that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the bill unanimously yesterday, with more gushing for good measure. None of the 30-odd amendments offered for the DRIVE Act passed, but the committee leadership did accept […]

Boxer and Inhofe Say Transportation Bill Almost Ready, Funding Still TBD

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 17, 2015 | 1 Comment

Two leading Washington lawmakers assured reporters Wednesday that a long-term transportation bill is coming, but provided little in the way of details. Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, respectively, held a press conference Wednesday featuring a line-up of construction and labor […]

Movement in Congress to Let Cities and Towns Access Federal Transpo Funds

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 23, 2015 | 5 Comments

Finally, proof that Congress is capable of crafting smart transportation legislation and not just zany ways to avoid raising the gas tax. A bipartisan coalition of 10 lawmakers is supporting the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act, which would help cities, counties, and other local governments directly access federal funding for transportation projects, according to Transportation for America. The proposal, first floated last year, […]

Obama’s New Transportation Budget: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 2, 2015 | 7 Comments

With federal transportation funding on track to run dry by May 31, Washington lawmakers are gearing up again to reset national transportation policy… or, if that doesn’t work out, to limp along indefinitely under the status quo. Today President Obama unveiled his opening bid in this process. The $478-billion, six-year plan from the White House includes many […]

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