Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about U.S. Senate

The Imminent Irrelevance of Randal O’Toole

By Ryan Avent | Jul 7, 2009 | 24 Comments

Two things were clear at this morning’s hearing of the Senate Banking Committee concerning green investments in public transportation. First, transportation experts and leading legislators are very much in agreement on how transportation spending should change. And second, Randal O’Toole’s days as anything other than an anachronism are numbered. Cato Institute fellow Randal O’Toole testified […]

Senate Starts Climate Push With Nods to Jobs, Energy and Transportation

By Elana Schor | Jul 7, 2009 | No Comments

Total U.S. emissions in 2007. (Chart: FHWA) The Senate is taking its first public steps toward combating climate change — and while the U.S. DOT was absent from this morning’s hearing, the chiefs of the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency reminded lawmakers that transportation must play a key role in any emissions reduction plan. […]

Cities See Population Gains — But What About Political Power?

By Elana Schor | Jul 1, 2009 | 5 Comments

The Census Bureau has just released new data showing a resurgence of the nation’s cities, with New York leading the way and Chicago reversing five years of population decline. The number of New Yorkers grew by an estimated 53,000 this year. Will they get more power in Congress? (Photo: lukegeorgeson via flickr) The urban growth […]

Boxer and Inhofe Agree: Transportation Policy Reform Can Wait

By Elana Schor | Jun 25, 2009 | 5 Comments

Green transportation advocates are pressing Congress to refuse any new spending that’s not tied to reform of the existing system — a call that influential senators in both parties ruled out today. Photo: CNN Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK), the panel’s ranking GOPer, in endorsing […]

The High-Speed Rail Numbers Game: Is $13 Billion and 110 MPH Enough?

By Elana Schor | Jun 24, 2009 | 11 Comments

High-speed rail is one of the Obama administration’s most prized policy goals, with $13 billion getting earmarked in the coming year alone to help break ground on up to 11 proposed regional corridors. But what will the U.S. get for its money? A lively Senate hearing yesterday attempted to answer that question. Will all 11 […]

Senators Seek Rail Safety Funding in Aftermath of Metro Crash

By Elana Schor | Jun 23, 2009 | 2 Comments

Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology. The scene of yesterday’s D.C. Metro crash. Photo: NYT The letter was sent by two chairmen with a central role in transportation policy — […]

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