Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Did Pelosi Just Side With Oberstar Over Obama on the Transpo Bill?
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That’s the implication of a Roll Call story today that states: "Momentum Builds for Transportation Bill." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (Photo: moniquemonicat.wordpress.com) Here’s how the exchange in question played out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) weekly briefing. Pelosi was asked for her position on a possible second stimulus bill, and she replied: I […]
Top 20 Metro Areas Get 28% of Road Stimulus, 61% of Transit Stimulus
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Cities are getting a disproportionately small share of the road money given out by the White House’s stimulus plan, but the nation’s top 20 metro areas are doing better when it comes to transit — taking in 61 percent of the transit stimulus cash allocated so far, according to an analysis by Streetsblog Capitol Hill. […]
Boxer Delays Senate Climate Bill Until September
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This was supposed to be a big week for action on climate change in the Senate — but it’s ending with Republicans rubbing their hands in glee as the Environment and Public Works Committee delays its unveiling of legislation on carbon emissions. Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) (Photo: AP) As Reuters reports this […]
Lawmakers Aim to Bring ‘Sustainable Communities’ From Talk to Action
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When three agencies in President Obama’s Cabinet — DOT, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency — banded together to promote "sustainable communities," the initiative sounded promising but somewhat lacking in concrete ideas. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) attached his green-housing legislation to the recently passed House climate bill. (Photo: AP) Enter a bipartisan […]
Senate Starts Climate Push With Nods to Jobs, Energy, and Transportation
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Total U.S. emissions in 2007, with transportation in blue at right. (Photo: FHWA) The Senate is taking its first public steps toward combating climate change — and while the U.S. DOT was absent from this morning’s hearing, the chiefs of the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency reminded lawmakers that transportation must play a key […]
New Report on Old Roads Uses Old Assumptions
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A new report on the costs of aging roads [PDF] has gotten a lot of attention over the past week, with both Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the Washington Post touting its conclusion on the danger of "deficient roadways." On its face, the report sounds like an argument for prioritizing road repair and modernization over […]
Obama Administration’s Transportation Goals: Read Them Here
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When the Obama administration proposed an 18-month delay in drafting the next federal transportation bill, U.S. DOT chief Ray LaHood called for Congress to include "critical reforms" alongside the extension of the existing law. But details on those reforms have been kept under wraps — until now. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, with his boss at […]
Cities See Population Gains — But What About Political Power?
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The Census Bureau has just released new data showing a resurgence of the nation’s cities, with New York leading the way and Chicago reversing five years of population decline. The number of New Yorkers grew by an estimated 53,000 this year. Will they get more power in Congress? (Photo: lukegeorgeson via flickr) The urban growth […]
EPA Okays Stronger Auto Emissions Standards Now in CA, 13 Other States
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(Photo: theweeklydriver.com) The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California’s request for a waiver allowing greater limits on auto tailpipe emissions, a move that effectively speeds up the phasing-in of the Obama administration’s fuel-efficiency standards in as many as 13 other states. The EPA billed its decision, which was widely expected and fulfills a campaign promise […]
Lawmakers Investigating the Resignation of Amtrak’s In-House Watchdog
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The House oversight committee has launched an official inquiry into the resignation of Amtrak’s veteran inspector general (IG) earlier this month — on the same day that an outside law firm reported on alleged interference with his work by management at the rail corporation. Amtrak IG Fred Weiderhold left earlier this month after 35 years […]
Report: States Used $6.6B in Stimulus Cash on New Roads, Not Repair
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Today is the deadline for state DOTs to allocate at least half of the transportation money they received under the economic stimulus law, and Smart Growth America marked the occasion with a study of what types of projects are getting that cash. North Carolina spent $5.7 million in stimulus cash repaving I-540, pictured above, along […]
House Climate Bill on Green Transpo: It’s Better Than You Thought!
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The climate change bill that squeaked through the House on Friday night allows U.S. states to use a share of their carbon emissions allowances to invest in green transportation, thanks to the combined efforts of a group of senior Democrats. The deal was billed last week as a narrow one, letting transit and other sustainable […]