Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Federal Transportation Bill

Ranking the Sad Parade of Federal Transpo Funding Ideas From Worst to Best

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 19, 2015 | No Comments

The problem seems simple enough: The federal transportation program is going broke because Washington has allowed the gas tax to be eroded by inflation for more than 20 years. As obvious as raising the gas tax may be, America’s political leaders won’t touch it. Yesterday, The Hill reported that Congressman Bill Shuster, chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is ruling out […]

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4 Things to Know as Transportation Bill Negotiations Heat Up

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 18, 2015 | No Comments

Lawmakers in Washington are just beginning their latest attempt to craft the first long-term transportation bill in roughly a decade. The current bill expires in just a few months, on May 31, but in Congress that’s an eternity. While it’s a long way from go time, the contours of the debate are starting to become […]

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Obama’s New Transportation Budget: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 2, 2015 | No Comments

With federal transportation funding on track to run dry by May 31, Washington lawmakers are gearing up again to reset national transportation policy… or, if that doesn’t work out, to limp along indefinitely under the status quo. Today President Obama unveiled his opening bid in this process. The $478-billion, six-year plan from the White House includes many […]

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Koch-Funded Groups: Cut All Federal Funding for Walking, Biking, Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 29, 2015 | No Comments

You know it’s time to fight over the federal transportation bill when the fossil fuel-soaked elements of the conservative movement start agitating to stop funding everything except car infrastructure. Yesterday, a coalition of 50 groups, several funded by the Koch brothers, sent a letter to Congress arguing that the way to fix federal transportation funding is […]

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GOP Will Control the Senate in 2015 — What Does It Mean for Transportation?

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 5, 2014 | No Comments

The forecasting models were right: As the polls closed last night it quickly became apparent that Republicans will gain control of the Senate, with at least 52 seats now held by the GOP. The implications for transportation are immense. To understand what they are, first let’s look at what last night means for the prospects […]

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Why the Next Fight Over Bike/Ped Funding Won’t Be Like the Last

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 11, 2014 | No Comments

When Congress passed a two-year transportation bill in 2012, active transportation advocates had to scrape and claw for every penny of funding for walking and biking programs. When the dust settled, it seemed they would have to repeat the same old battles when the law expired. Right now the current law is up for renewal […]

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