Recent Streetsblog USA posts about 2009 Transportation Bill

Oberstar to Back 3-Month Delay in Transport Bill As Soon As Next Week

By Elana Schor | Sep 17, 2009 | No Comments

House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is readying a proposal to extend current infrastructure law by three months — 15 months less than the delay preferred by the White House — and could introduce the legislation as soon as next week, his office said today. House transport committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Capitol […]

A Few Words on Transportation User Fees

By Ryan Avent | Sep 17, 2009 | 2 Comments

We tend to have a few good laughs when Randal O’Toole fires up his Cato computer and weighs in on transportation issues. It’s hard to take seriously a man who thinks that having the government tax people to build something which it then gives away for free is the libertarian ideal. Do federal gas taxes […]

Conservatives: If We Can’t Kill Off the U.S. DOT, Let’s ‘Fix’ It!

By Elana Schor | Sep 16, 2009 | 3 Comments

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, an early conservative cheerleader for the Bush tax cuts, coined an instantly classic phrase in 2001: "My goal is to cut government in half in 25 years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." The stuff of Cato scholars’ dreams? (Photo: JohnLund.com) And […]

New Investigation Finds 2,100 Transport Lobbyists Working the System

By Elana Schor | Sep 16, 2009 | No Comments

Interest groups seeking to influence transportation policy-making have long flooded the capital with campaign cash and lobbyists — and their numbers are rising at an eye-popping rate. Nearly 1,800 interests are employing at least 2,100 transportation lobbyists to work the system in anticipation of the next federal infrastructure bill, according to a Center for Public […]

Oberstar Stands Firm on Transportation Bill, Gets Industry Backup

By Elana Schor | Sep 14, 2009 | No Comments

In case any doubts remained about his willingness to challenge the White House and the Senate on prompt passage of a long-term infrastructure bill, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) op-ed in the Politico this morning should clear them up: House transport committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Capitol Chatter) Unfortunately, the administration and […]

Compromise or Concession: Congress Faces Tough Transport Choices

By Elana Schor | Sep 8, 2009 | No Comments

Health care and transportation funding are very different items on Congress’ to-do list, but the Washington Post’s assessment of the former issue fits the latter as well: Lawmakers return today from a month-long recess to find a political landscape that has barely shifted from the impasse of late July. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) (Photo: UPI) […]

Show More Stories