Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Grassley: ‘Two or Three Other’ Republicans Open to Climate Change Deal
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The Senate’s propensity for filibusters, delay, and fruitless attempts at bipartisan deal-making is earning it quite the reputation these days. And climate change legislation, with its big-ticket implications for transit and urban development in general, is becoming increasingly caught up in the Senate’s peripatetic politics. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (Photo: CNN) The Finance Committee held […]
The Wall Street Transportation Tax: Predictably Unpopular On Wall Street
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As Congress mulls over solutions to the nation’s transportation funding gap, with an eye to passing new infrastructure legislation to reverse the rising unemployment rate, Rep. Pete DeFazio’s (D-OR) proposed tax on oil futures is picking up new fans in high places. Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) (Photo: UPI) DeFazio’s legislation would levy a 0.2 percent […]
The National Perspective: New Report Maps the Gap Between Pedestrian Risks and Federal Safety Aid
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The top 10 most dangerous cities for pedestrians. (Chart: Dangerous by Design report) If the equivalent of one jumbo jet full of Americans died every month, the resulting public outcry would be deafening. Or would it? Anne Canby, the former Delaware transportation secretary who heads the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP), raised that question today […]
‘The Concrete is Cracking’: Front-Loaded New Transport Bill Gains Steam
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With the U.S. unemployment rate hitting 10.2 percent today, its highest level in 26 years, a palpable shift is occurring on Capitol Hill. House transportation chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: STLToday) For weeks, we’ve heard senior Democrats and the transit industry make the case for more transportation spending as a potent job creator, but the […]
Boxer Okays Senate Climate Bill, Without Amendments or GOP
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The Senate environment committee approved its climate change bill today on a 10-1 vote, shrugging off a boycott by all of the panel’s Republicans but missing out on the chance to consider amendments to the lengthy legislation. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) (Photo: AP) The environment panel’s chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had offered Republicans several days […]
Congress Set to Double the Size of Sprawl-Centric Home Buyer’s Tax Credit
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The $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers — which was wracked by fraudulent claims after its creation as part of the nation’s economic recovery effort — is on the verge of a significant expansion by Congress. Just how much will the tax credit mushroom thanks to the deal reached in the Senate? As the […]
Buffett’s Bet on Burlington: What Does it Mean for Transport and Energy?
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The financial world was riveted this morning by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s move to take full ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, a $34 billion deal that ranks as the largest ever executed by Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett (Photo: Redfin) But what does Buffett’s purchase mean for the nation’s energy […]
To Limit Distracted Driving, Congress Leans Toward a Carrot-Stick Combo
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Partisanship is a fact of life in Washington, often slowing down progress on issues from health care to climate change. But when it comes to preventing the use of electronic devices behind the wheel, a congressional consensus is emerging in favor of federal action — even as the extent of GOP support for a punitive […]
Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest
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Halfway through this afternoon’s rally in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally, walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its purpose. Once their curiosity was […]
At Senate Climate Hearings, Lots of Transport Talk and All Eyes on Baucus
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Yesterday, the Senate environment committee held the first in a three-part marathon of hearings on its climate change legislation, with supporters singling out the bill’s investments in clean transportation even as one senior Democrat notably withheld his support from the measure. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) (Photo: Baucus 08) The Senate climate bill calls […]
Transport Policy Update: Senate to Pass 6-Month Extension This Week
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Before week’s end, the Senate will pass a six-month extension of the nation’s four-year-old transportation law — setting the stage for another showdown with the House, where transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar remains on the fence about abandoning the push for a new long-term bill before 2010. (Photo: USGS.gov) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) […]
How Bus Transit Can Help the Auto Industry
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A map of the companies involved in the supply chain for U.S. transit buses. (Image: EDF) When Vice President Joe Biden visited Minnesota’s New Flyer bus company to tout the economic stimulus law’s $8.4 billion investment in transit, hopes were high for a boom in cleaner-burning vehicle production — which made for some bad press […]