Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Barack Obama

Obama’s Last Budget Lays Out a Smart Vision for American Transportation

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 9, 2016 | No Comments

The White House released its 2017 budget [PDF] this morning, which includes more detail about the exciting but politically doomed transportation proposal President Obama outlined last week. Obama’s plan doesn’t have a chance in the current Congress, but it shows what national transportation policy centered on reducing greenhouse gas emissions might look like. Last week’s release sketched out a $10 per barrel tax on […]

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Obama’s Politically Impossible Transpo Plan Is Just What America Needs

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 5, 2016 | No Comments

It may be “seven years too late,” as tactical urbanist Mike Lydon put it, but President Obama has released a transportation proposal that calls for big shifts in the country’s spending priorities. Obama’s proposal would generate $30 billion annually from a $10-per-barrel surcharge assessed on oil companies. More importantly, the revenue is linked to a substantial shift in what transportation projects get […]

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Is Obama Opposed to the Bipartisan Gas Tax Proposal or Just Noncommittal?

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 24, 2014 | No Comments

Yesterday, The Huffington Post ran this headline: “White House Appears More Open To A Gas Tax Hike.” Minutes later, The Hill published this one: “White House opposes gas tax hike to fix transportation funding.” So, which is it? The Hill’s headline was based on a statement by new White House press secretary Josh Earnest, who said about […]

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President Obama’s Hollow Push for Infrastructure Investment

By Tanya Snyder | May 14, 2014 | No Comments

This afternoon, President Obama stood by New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge and made a speech pressing Congress to do something about infrastructure investment. It’s part of his Infrastructure Week push for Congress to pass a fully funded transportation reauthorization bill. Many other groups are spending this week sounding the same horn. “If they don’t act […]

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Inside Obama’s Transpo Budget: “Historic Increase” in Transit Funding

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 4, 2014 | No Comments

A few more details about the Obama administration’s proposal for a new transportation bill surfaced today when the president unveiled his 2015 budget proposal. The topline numbers came out last week and look good for transit, biking, and walkability. The White House’s four-year, $302 billion surface transportation plan proposes an “historic increase” in transit funding — […]

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

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 26, 2014 | No 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 […]

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