Recent Streetsblog LA posts about President Obama

Obama Quietly Gets Federal Agencies Involved in Transport Planning

By Elana Schor | Jan 19, 2010 | 1 Comment

When President Obama signed an executive order in October requiring federal agencies to craft strategies for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, he described the mandate as Washington "lead[ing] by example" on the pollution-reduction front. (Photo: AP) And that’s true — but the order also includes language telling federal agencies to get involved in integrating local […]

CBO Echoes Obama’s Candor on the Pitfalls of ‘Shovel-Readiness’

By Elana Schor | Jan 19, 2010 | No Comments

During last month’s White House jobs summit, President Obama carved out some common ground with critics of his first stimulus law’s $47 billion in infrastructure spending — which was distributed mainly by the book through state DOTs. "The term "shovel-ready," let’s be honest here, doesn’t always live up to its billing," he acknowledged. The CBO […]

Obama Administration Working on Its Own Six-Year Transportation Bill

By Elana Schor | Jan 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

The annual powwow of thousands of transportation workers, planners, and wonks that’s known as the Transportation Research Board (TRB) conference kicked off in the capital yesterday with a candid admission from some senior U.S. DOT officials: reorienting American transport planning to accommodate the overlap with housing and environmental sustainability is proving pretty difficult. U.S. DOT […]

White House Backs $50B For ‘Merit-Based Infrastructure Investment’

By Elana Schor | Dec 8, 2009 | 1 Comment

President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars." President Obama gave a high-profile jobs speech today. (Photo: NYT) During his […]

Consumer Group: White House Left Fuel-Efficiency Savings on the Table

By Elana Schor | Nov 25, 2009 | No Comments

The Obama administration’s proposal to raise auto fuel-efficiency (CAFE) standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 could have gone even further in order to reap the maximum environmental and economic benefits of cleaner cars, according to a new analysis [PDF] released today by the Consumer Federation of America. In his analysis, Consumer Federation research […]

Obama: Climate Pessimism More Dangerous Than Climate Deniers

By Elana Schor | Oct 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

In a speech much anticipated by those tracking the D.C. environmental debate, President Obama today took on opponents of congressional action on climate change, decrying "naysayers" who "make cynical claims" that ignore scientific evidence of the harm caused by emissions. (Photo: BusinessWeek) But "far more dangerous" than the rhetoric of climate deniers or skeptics, Obama […]

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