Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Streetsblog Capitol Hill

House Lawmakers Hail Transportation Stimulus — But Add Three Caveats

By Elana Schor | Feb 23, 2010 | 2 Comments

At a House transportation committee hearing today that marked the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s economic recovery efforts, lawmakers offered praise for the stimulus law’s impact on local infrastructure investments even as they hit upon three key areas of concern with its implementation. The Port of Los Angeles was shut out of the stimulus’ […]

Voinovich Secures Dem Promise to Hold a Senate Vote on Transpo in 2010

By Elana Schor | Feb 23, 2010 | 3 Comments

Compelling infrastructure news out of the Senate last night: The long-delayed successor to the 2005 federal transportation law could come to a vote sooner than the spring 2011 timetable sought by the Obama administration, thanks to a promise secured by Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) in exchange for his vote in favor of the Democratic jobs […]

Senators Warn of Possible ‘Federal Intervention’ in D.C. Transit System

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | 3 Comments

Four senior members of the Senate Banking Committee today warned Washington D.C.’s transit agency that "direct federal intervention" in the local Metrorail system could be the next step if officials did not move to remedy an "unacceptable" safety record that includes a series of recent crashes and near-misses, capped by a derailment 10 days ago. […]

Barbour Breaks With AASHTO Chief on Stimulus’ Transportation Benefits

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | No Comments

Viewers of yesterday’s Fox News Sunday were treated to an interesting sight: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), whose name is increasingly in the mix for his party’s 2012 presidential nomination, distancing himself from the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Washington’s voice for state DOTs. Butch Brown, Mississippi’s DOT […]

U.S. DOT Offers Sample Distracted Driving Bill — With a Potential Loophole

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | No Comments

The Obama administration today offered a one-page sample proposal to crack down on texting behind the wheel, aimed at helping guide states through the process of crafting their own distracted driving legislation. (Photo: brainlink.org) The sample bill text [PDF] was prepared by the U.S. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which invited road safety groups […]

The Upside of GOP ‘Hypocrisy’ on Transportation Stimulus Grants

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | No Comments

To call Rep. Pete Sessions (TX), chairman of the House Republican campaign committee, a critic of the Obama administration’s stimulus law would be putting it mildly. Sessions marked the one-year anniversary of the law’s passage last week by labeling the stimulus a "massive spending binge" that only "allegedly" created jobs in his district. Is his […]

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