Elana Schor
Recent Posts
How Much Operating Aid is Your Local Transit Agency Getting?
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President Obama has signed into law a $106 billion war funding bill that includes a provision allowing local transit agencies to spend 10 percent of their stimulus money on operating costs. That sounds good … but how much money are we actually talking about? According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA): St. Louis’ Metro system […]
The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
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The scene of Monday’s Metro crash in D.C., where the local transit agency still has 15 outstanding "SILO" tax deals. (Photo: AP) The D.C. Metro accident that killed nine riders this week has renewed calls for rail safety upgrades and reminders that car travel remains far riskier than transit. But the crash is also shedding […]
Boxer and Inhofe Agree: Transportation Policy Reform Can Wait
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Green transportation advocates are pressing Congress to refuse any new spending that’s not tied to reform of the existing system — a call that influential senators in both parties ruled out today. Photo: CNN Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK), the panel’s ranking GOPer, in endorsing […]
Senate Poised to Move on Climate Bill
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Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, isn’t yet ready to start debating a long-term transportation bill — but she is reportedly prepared to move on climate change legislation that includes targets for diminishing auto dependence and encouraging transit use. Boxer’s panel will begin debate on its climate bill during […]
Your Unlikely Reasonable Voice of the Day
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Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is not known as a friend of green transportation — and that’s putting it mildly. GOP Rep. Don Young (AK) showed a flash of reason today. (Photo: Progressive Alaska) During his reign as House transportation committee chairman, Young passed a $283 billion bill that helped bloat the federal bureaucracy while steering […]
The High-Speed Rail Numbers Game: Is $13 Billion and 110 MPH Enough?
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High-speed rail is one of the Obama administration’s most prized policy goals, with $13 billion getting earmarked in the coming year alone to help break ground on up to 11 proposed regional corridors. But what will the U.S. get for its money? A lively Senate hearing yesterday attempted to answer that question. Will all 11 […]
House Dems Agree: Climate Bill Can Help Pay for Greener Transportation
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Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday struck a deal ahead of Friday’s make-or-break vote on climate change legislation to give greener transportation a place at the table. The climate bill gives the states 10 percent of its carbon emissions allowances, the total worth of which is projected to hit $70 billion by […]
Sen Boxer Seeks Rail Safety Funds after DC Crash
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Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology. The scene of yesterday’s D.C. Metro crash. (Photo: NYT) The letter was sent by two chairmen with a central role in transportation policy — […]
Flashback: Does the Government Owe Transportation $21 Billion?
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Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House transportation committee, made an interesting comment earlier this month in the Journal of Commerce: Former Rep. Bud Shuster (R-PA) struck a deal 11 years ago that sealed off transportation money. (Photo: NYT) Infusing cash to keep the Highway Trust fund afloat at the end of fiscal 2009 […]
Wonk Alert: Download Oberstar’s Transportation Bill in Full
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House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) new federal bill, which he previewed Wednesday despite pushback from the Obama administration, is officially out. You can download the 775-page legislative text right here, thanks to Transportation for America. Streetsblog Capitol Hill is thumbing through it right now to provide highlights later today.
New Report Quantifies Benefits of Adding Smarth Growth to Climate Bill
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As a new non-partisan analysis of the House climate change bill — proving that capping CO2 can save money for the poorest fifth of the nation — continues to make waves on the Hill, it’s worth noting that the legislation could yield even greater savings by focusing on reducing transportation-based emissions. House Energy & Commerce […]
House GOPers Propose Filling Trust Fund With Stimulus Money
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As their committee’s leaders butted heads with the Obama administration, a group of Republicans on the House transportation panel proposed to fill the $7 billion hole in the nation’s highway trust fund with unobligated money from the economic stimulus law. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) (Photo: SW Broward GOP) The bill, offered yesterday by Rep. Mario […]