Tanya Snyder
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Recent Posts
How Pedestrian! The Walking Movement Flexes Its Muscle
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People tend to identify most strongly with things that set them apart. If everyone’s doing something, it hardly seems worth calling attention to the fact that you do it too. Which may be part of the reason it’s been hard for pedestrian advocacy organizations to build a strong identity around walking. Urban cyclists are constantly […]
Auto Industry Celebrates a Republican House It Helped Put In Power
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You might still be recuperating from your post-election hangover, but automotive executives are celebrating victory after victory. Auto industry lobbyists are predicting a good couple of years, according to a report by Automotive News. They’re betting the Republican majority in the House will “investigate, slow and try to block Obama administration initiatives that it considers […]
Our Stagnant Gas Tax Rate Is Making the Deficit Worse
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Despite the anti-tax rhetoric of this round of elections, there’s been a little flurry of support for raising the gas tax lately. Two senators just proposed bumping it by 25 cents to replenish the highway trust fund. And the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform included a gas tax hike in its proposal for […]
The Power of the Pursestrings Shifts to a Livability Denier in the House
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The transfer of power in the House of Representatives gives transportation reformers plenty to wring their hands about. The loss of James Oberstar was a shock, and folks are still synthesizing what it means to have John Mica in charge of the next transportation bill. But flying under the radar is another big shift with […]
Could a Coal-n-Highways Dem Take Oberstar’s Place on Transpo Committee?
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Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) is reportedly angling for the top Democratic seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House. Had Jim Oberstar survived the election, he would have given up the chair and become the ranking member. Rahall is next in line for the seat, and, as The Hill is reporting, he’s ready […]
Just How Lame Will This Lame Duck Be?
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The GOP has named the 22 members of its transition team and it’s ready to get to work. Don’t expect the work for these lawmakers to include any actual law-making, though. Not till January, anyway. The lame duck session, which begins Monday, has a long agenda. On the list of have-to’s: Coming to some agreement […]
Obama Still Believes in a Bipartisan Push for Infrastructure. Do You?
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Last night, President Obama appeared on 60 Minutes to talk about the election results – a “shellacking,” as he’s called it – and chart the path forward. He talked a lot about infrastructure – and between the lines of some of his other comments are messages we should be paying attention to. The first thing […]
Eliminate Waste or Kill Good Projects? Earmark Ban Could Cut Both Ways
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As the election news sunk in yesterday, President Obama sought common ground with the incoming Republican leadership. His olive branch: earmarks. In a nod to the likely new House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA), Obama singled out an earmark ban as an area of agreement for the two parties. Cantor has called earmarks “the poster […]
Oberstar Says Goodbye, Mica Promises Rail and a Long-Term Bill
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Rep. Jim Oberstar said goodbye today after 36 years in the House, during which he helped pioneer federal support for biking and walking. “I go in peace of mind and heart, but with sadness,” he said in his concession speech. He said he wouldn’t change or take back any of his votes for transportation, especially […]
The Silver Lining: 73 Percent of Transpo Ballot Measures Win
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Ready for some good news? Voters around the country got to decide on 29 transportation-related ballot initiatives yesterday. According to an analysis by the Center for Transportation Excellence, transportation advocates and reformers won 73 percent of them. If you add in other initiatives that passed earlier this year, the victory rate jumps to 77 percent. […]
Election Results: GOP Govs Win Big, Dems Take California, Oberstar Ousted
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The biggest news from last night, of course, is that the GOP won control of the House of Representatives. That means Republicans now control all the House committees, and Ohio’s John Boehner — a believer in wider highways — will wield the Speaker’s gavel. The Democrats hung on to the Senate, though, and pundits are […]
Will Georgia’s Next Governor ‘Unclog Atlanta’?
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This is the final installment of our series on high-stakes governor’s races. We hope you’ll be watching along with us tonight as the results come in for the races we’ve followed in Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. Now, we turn to Georgia. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Georgians two weeks ago, […]