Elana Schor
Recent Posts
New Poll: Support For Transit Expansion Transcends Rural-Urban Divide
| | No Comments
How respondents replied to the following statement: "My community would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportation system, such as rail or buses." (Chart: T4A) Despite the frequent reluctance of rural lawmakers to support more federal investment in transit, a majority of rural and urban voters alike believe their home towns would gain from […]
‘A Dozen or So’ Senators Delay Passage of Oberstar’s Highway Funding Fix
| | No Comments
A contentious congressional dispute over $932 million in transportation funding remains unresolved this week after the Senate approved a one-month extension of federal aviation law rather than a three-month version of the bill that included a fix to the provision at issue. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (Photo: LV City Life) House transportation committee […]
Transport and the Tea Party: How Conservatives Talk About the Gas Tax
| | No Comments
The passage of health care legislation this week, while elating Democrats, has proven an equally potent motivator for conservatives advocates of states’ rights. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was asked about the viability of the legal challenge to the health bill filed by 14 mostly conservative attorneys […]
Boxer Aims to Put TIGER-Type Program in Next Federal Transport Bill
| | No Comments
During an otherwise-abbreviated hearing yesterday, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined the chorus of praise for the stimulus law’s TIGER program, declaring her intention to add a version of the competitive infrastructure grants to the next long-term federal transportation bill. Bicyclists in Philadelphia, where $23 million in TIGER money was awarded to build […]
EPA Drops Data Before GOP Forces Shutdown of Transportation Hearing
| | No Comments
The Senate environment panel today was forced to prematurely shutter its latest hearing on the next long-term federal transportation bill after Republicans invoked a rarely-used right to close down committee work as part of their broader protest against the majority party’s health care legislation. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), center, with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) at […]
Feds Begin Redefining ‘Affordable Housing’ to Include Transport Costs
| | No Comments
Comparing the transportation savings in dense versus dispersed neighborhoods for a dozen U.S. metro areas. (Chart: CNT) The process of expanding the federal government’s definition of "affordable housing," a stated goal of the Obama administration’s sustainable communities effort, began in earnest yesterday with the introduction of a new index that integrates transportation prices into the […]
Bids For Federal Streetcar Aid Top Available Money by Nearly Tenfold
| | No Comments
After announcing $130 million in new streetcar grants in December, the Obama administration received more than $1.1 billion in applications, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff told lawmakers today — offering more evidence of the growing local enthusiasm for competitive transportation funding that began with the stimulus law’s TIGER grant program. New Orleans, above, […]
Transit Operating Aid Bill Doesn’t Fly With Major D.C. Transit Group
| | No Comments
A burgeoning congressional push to let urban transit agencies tap federal funds for operating their systems is not sitting well with the transit industry’s largest D.C. lobbying group, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). A rail car from New York City’s transit authority, one of APTA’s biggest members. (Photo: TreeHugger) Paul Dean, APTA’s government relations […]
Senate Health Bill Approved: What it Means for Transportation
| | No Comments
After 14 months of drama, deal-making, and declarations of its demise, the health care legislation envisioned by President Obama and congressional Democrats finally cleared its biggest hurdle last night, with the House approving the Senate-passed measure on a 219-212 vote. Safe Routes to School programs, such as this one, could see a boost from the […]
Transit Industry Group Adds a Caveat to Its Stance on Operating Aid
| | No Comments
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which has represented the transit industry in Washington for more than 120 years, has openly welcomed the year-long push for Congress to relax longstanding rules that prevent large urban agencies to spend federal grant money on their operating costs. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) (Photo: AAAS) APTA president William Millar […]
House “Fix” to Jobs Bill Takes $192 Million from California
| | No Comments
House transport panel chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) state would lose an estimated $9.5 million under the fix. (Photo: Jonathan Maus) Fixing a disputed provision in the jobs bill that President Obama signed into law yesterday — as Senate Democratic leaders promised House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) following complaints by several members of his […]
Inhofe Questions Transit and Bike-Ped Investments in House Transport Bill
| | No Comments
The senior Republican on the Senate environment panel today criticized the House’s six-year transportation bill, lamenting that the measure "focus[es] very heavily on transit, bike paths, and sidewalks" and carves out a strong federal role in "decisions historically left to the state level." Inhofe’s concerns, raised at the latest in the environment committee’s series of […]