Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Barack Obama

Obama to Propose Four-Year Transpo Bill Funded By “Business Tax Reform”

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 26, 2014 | 17 Comments

President Obama will unveil a proposal for a $302 billion, four-year transportation bill during a speech today in Minnesota, according to an announcement from the White House. A fact sheet from the administration indicates the proposal would increase dedicated funding for transit more than funding for highways. The proposal would represent a 38 percent spending […]

Will Obama’s SOTU Pledge to Flex Executive Power Extend to Transpo?

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 29, 2014 | 3 Comments

Maybe it doesn’t matter what President Obama says in his State of the Union. According to a Washington Post analysis, his batting average for last year’s SOTU proposals was a .208. In 2013, the president pleaded for tax reform, an American Jobs Act, $50 billion for a Fix-It-First infrastructure repair binge, a “Partnership to Rebuild […]

Obama’s Climate Speech: Mostly Mum on Transportation

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 25, 2013 | 3 Comments

President Obama announced a sweeping package of measures to address climate change today. But with a couple of exceptions, he was largely silent on the 27 percent of carbon emissions that come from the transportation sector. One of the most important reforms the president announced is presidential memorandum he plans to issue to the EPA to […]

Does President Obama Have the Power to Influence Transportation Policy?

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 30, 2013 | 12 Comments

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy called for a federal transit funding plan. Two years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson took baby steps toward starting that program, but Johnson’s true transportation legacy was signing the bill that created the Department of Transportation, bringing all modes under one roof. Nixon oversaw the creation of Amtrak. Ford […]

Obama’s 2014 Transpo Budget Calls for Higher Spending, HSR

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 10, 2013 | 3 Comments

The Obama Administration has put forward an opening bid in what are sure to be contentious 2014 budget negotiations, issuing a solidly progressive transportation budget that calls for increased overall spending and continued investment in passenger rail. The $76 billion transportation budget would represent a 5.5 percent, or $4 billion, spending increase over 2012 levels. […]

Will Big Highway Projects Have to Consider Climate Change?

By Tanya Snyder | Mar 21, 2013 | 13 Comments

Since 1970, the National Environmental Protection Act has required federal agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on air, water, and soil pollution — but not on climate change. Until recently, carbon dioxide, which causes global warning, wasn’t classified as a pollutant and so couldn’t be regulated under environmental laws. The EPA in 2009 […]

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