Tanya Snyder
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Recent Posts
More Responses to Mica Transpo Bill: Lots of People Think It’s a Rotten Idea
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In the 24 hours since Rep. John Mica has unveiled his proposal for the next six years of transportation policy and funding, my inbox has been flooded with responses from advocates, lawmakers, policy wonks, and everyone in between, giving their perspective on the bill’s potential impacts. I posted some yesterday, but they just keep a-comin’. […]
Mica: “The Focus of the Bill Is on the National Highway System”
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First, to recap: The transportation reauthorization proposal that House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica unveiled yesterday (sans legislative text) calls for $230 billion over six years, cutting 33 percent out of current spending levels. The plan maintains the current 80/20 split between highways and transit funding, supports state infrastructure banks in lieu of a national […]
Mica’s Transportation Proposal: Responses Flood In
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The GOP transportation proposal is now online. Here are some early reactions. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Senate Banking subcommittee with jurisdiction over public transportation: “It used to be that Republicans understood that transportation investment was necessary to spur economic growth and create jobs. Now, I guess they think if we give the […]
Mica Transpo Bill Shrinks Spending 33%, Eliminates Bike-Ped Guarantee
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House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica’s proposed transportation reauthorization bill includes $230 billion over six years, a reduction of 33 percent compared to spending levels in the last multi-year bill. The proposal, which he unveiled at a standing-room-only press event in the committee hearing room today, eliminates any federal guarantee (he calls it a “set-aside”) […]
Finally: Rustlings of a Reauthorization
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First, the House and Senate pledged they’d have a bill marked up by Memorial Day. Then it was definitely going to come in June. (One staffer even told me that they were still planning on it coming “in the spring,” so it would be before the summer solstice — June 21.) But it looks like […]
The Dangers of Touting the Job-Creation Benefits of Transpo Investment
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Earlier this week, President Obama spoke to reporters at the White House. Fully aware of the growing concern in the country over the “jobless recovery,” Obama led off by talking about jobs – and pushing Congress to pass a transportation reauthorization. But was he using the wrong talking point? “Right now, Congress could send me […]
Stimulus-Backed Programs Struggle to Stay Alive After Funds Run Out
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In an old supermarket space in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse community of bicycle aficionados are getting greasy. Young and old, Latino and white, they are truing wheels and replacing cables and adjusting brakes in L.A.’s newest, and completely unplanned, bike co-op. Bici Libre, as it’s called, got its start when the […]
Rumor Mill: House Leadership Hostile to Transpo Reauthorization
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A few weeks ago, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor published his list of bills the House will attempt to get through before the August recess. The transportation reauthorization was not among them. Rumor has it that House leadership has put the kibosh on Transportation Committee Chair John Mica’s plans to get a bill out of […]
USDOT Announces Funding For Transit Projects, Minus ARC Tunnel
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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday announced $1.58 billion in New Starts grants that will fund 27 transit projects around the country. The only major difference between this list and the list of proposed projects that came out in February 2010 is the glaring absence of the ARC tunnel project that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie […]
Expect Two (Radically Different) Reauthorization Proposals Soon
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The Environment and Public Works Committee is getting ready to introduce their transportation reauthorization bill, according to reports by the Journal of Commerce. The committee has, shrewdly, worked closely with Finance Committee Chair (and EPW leader) Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) on a way to pay for the bill, in order to avoid a situation like the […]
NJ Rep. Frelinghuysen Goes After HSR Money Destined For His Own State
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As towns flanking the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers continue to be inundated with historically high water, it’s good to see Congress taking action to provide some relief. Unfortunately, that relief comes on the back of high-speed rail programs. Last week, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), who chairs the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, introduced an amendment […]
25 Senators Demand Robust Transit Funding
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In a letter to Finance Committee leaders [PDF], 25 senators today urged adequate funding for mass transit in the next transportation authorization bill. The letter notes that public transportation systems find themselves in a budgetary crisis just as more and more people, driven by $4/gallon gas, are seeking out transportation options. During the worst economic […]