Elana Schor
Recent Posts
House Set to Pass Jobs Bill With Changes, Prompting Another Senate Vote
| | No Comments
The House has just begun voting on the Senate jobs bill, which includes a $20 billion reprieve for the nation’s highway trust fund and an highway expansion of Build America Bonds — but though the legislation is expected to pass, it won’t be headed to the president’s desk yet. Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) (Photo: UPI) […]
LaHood Faces Off With GOP Senator Over High-Speed Rail, Livability
| | 1 Comment
When Cabinet secretaries appear in front of Congress’ appropriations committees, which control the annual budgets for each federal agency, the proceedings tend to be dry affairs dominated by local concerns and arcane fiscal debates. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) (Photo: Politico) But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s visit with Senate appropriators today was anything but humdrum, as […]
Moody’s Gifts Fossil-Fuel States With Positive Credit Outlook
| | 1 Comment
Comparing the falloff in state tax revenue to shifts in total unemployment. (Chart: Moody’s) Credit-rating agencies — particularly Moody’s and S&P, the nation’s two premier shops — wield significant influence over the financial health of private companies. But state and local officials are often equally dependent on good credit ratings to borrow money for transportation […]
Senate Starts Work on New Transport Bill, With House Version as a Guide
| | No Comments
The Senate today took its first steps towards voting on a new long-term federal transportation bill, with environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowing to take up a successor to the 2005 infrastructure law before 2011 and indicating she would use the House’s already-introduced version as a framework. Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), […]
New Dem Campaign Brands Stimulus Critics as ‘Highway Hypocrites’
| | No Comments
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) joined others in her party in voting against the stimulus before praising its local impact. (Photo: Seattle Times) As more media outlets note the phenomenon of GOP lawmakers who voted against the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law before seeking — and taking credit for winning — a share of its […]
TCS: Disputed Transport Provision in Jobs Bill Rewarded Political Clout
| | No Comments
A provision in the Senate jobs bill that would distribute $932 million in 2010 transportation funding based on existing earmarks is in line for a quick fix, thanks to a deal struck on Friday between House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and Democratic leaders in the upper chamber. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), […]
Transportation Filibuster Update: Bunning Won’t Yield to Fellow GOPer
| | No Comments
Federal infrastructure funding and many U.S. DOT workers remain in limbo today as Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) continues his one-man filibuster of legislation extending the 2005 transport law, turning himself into a Democratic target and a poster child for Washington gridlock. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) was heard quipping "tough s—t" as he began blocking an […]
Could a New Kind of Fuel Tax Help Break the Senate Climate Deadlock?
| | No Comments
Even before the Senate environment panel pushed through a GOP protest to approve its climate change bill, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and John Kerry (D-MA) were working behind the scenes on a so-called "tripartisan" plan that can win enough votes in Congress’ upper chamber to make nationwide emissions cuts a reality. (from […]
Federal Transportation Law Expired Over the Weekend: What’s Next?
| | 1 Comment
A new month begins today without rules in place to govern federal transportation programs, thanks to an objection by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to quick approval of a short-term extension of existing law. The Natchez Trace Parkway, where trail construction is set to stall today thanks to inaction on federal transport law. (Photo: TheFunTimesGuide.com) The […]
LaHood Backs Feingold’s Plan to Cancel Unspent Transport Earmarks
| | No Comments
When a member of Congress earmarks transportation money for a local project, the funding isn’t always spent in a timely manner. The Bush administration’s final budget proposed to cancel road earmarks that had sat largely unspent for 10 years, a move that would have freed up $626 million, according to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). A […]
The Big Question: What is the Purpose of Federal Transportation Spending?
| | No Comments
With the White House’s agenda crowded by high-profile debates that remain unresolved after lengthy talks with Congress — think health care, financial regulation, even unemployment benefits — only a handful of lawmakers are publicly engaging with the dominant issues surrounding the next long-term federal transportation bill. (Photo: UVA) Within that group of lawmakers, however, there […]
Deja Vu Again: One-Man Senate Filibuster Imperils Federal Transport Law
| | No Comments
A familiar script for Washington infrastructure watchers began to unfold last night on the Senate floor, as House-side resistance to a 10-month extension of existing federal transportation law prompted Democratic leaders to seek a quick deal on a one-month stopgap — the fourth such short-term move in six months. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) (Photo: CNN) […]