Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Centers for Disease Control: Transportation Reform is Health Reform

By Elana Schor | May 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

The connection between transportation and public health has slowly edged into the mainstream since Streetsblog Capitol Hill began covering it last year, first through a billion-dollar grant program added to Congress’ sprawling health care bill and now in a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) brief that connects existing U.S. infrastructure with chronic disease, obesity, and […]

LaHood Answers GOP Critic, Soothes Dem Skeptic of Sustainability Budget

By Elana Schor | May 6, 2010 | 7 Comments

As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tangled with a senior GOP senator today over the White House’s $500 million-plus request for its inter-agency office of sustainable communities — a new project aimed at channeling federal energy towards local transit-oriented and smart growth plans — an influential Democrat joined her fellow senator in raising questions about diverting […]

DeLauro Pushes Alternative to ‘Disappointing’ White House I-Fund

By Elana Schor | May 5, 2010 | No Comments

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today continued her push for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), lamenting the Obama administration’s choice to pursue a $4 billion fund housed within the U.S. DOT rather than an independent entity focused on water, electricity, and other broader needs. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) (Photo: America 2050 via Flickr) "If it’s true […]

EPA Adopting ‘Fix-it-First’ Infrastructure Policy — For Water

By Elana Schor | May 5, 2010 | 2 Comments

Environmental groups have long called for a national "fix-it-first" standard to apply to new transportation projects, requiring states to focus on repair of existing infrastructure before constructing new lane miles. The approach has caught on in several state capitals, but not in Washington — except when it comes to water infrastructure. A sign advertising "spring […]

Expectations for High-Speed Rail Coming Down to Earth

By Elana Schor | May 5, 2010 | 14 Comments

Three months after the Obama administration announced the first winners of what it hopes will be the first of many federal grants to build U.S. high-speed rail networks, advocates and planners are settling in for a long battle to surmount the obstacles and unknowns that stand in the way of long-term bullet train development. If […]

Senate Dems Unveil Auto Safety Legislation

By Elana Schor | May 4, 2010 | 3 Comments

Democrats are moving quickly on their plan to take a unified approach to auto safety reforms in the aftermath of the Toyota recalls, with Senate Commerce Committee members releasing a new bill today that would quintuple the maximum existing penalties for carmakers who — like Toyota — fail to promptly notify the public of defective […]

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