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
Obama Admin’s Bold Transpo Plan Leaves Funding Question to Congress
| | No Comments
The president’s six-year transportation plan [PDF], included as part of the administration’s FY2012 budget proposal, weighs in at a hefty $556 billion and lays out several policy reforms that, if enacted, could help the nation transition to a more multi-modal, less oil-dependent transportation system. The plan is a blueprint that Congress can use as a […]
Obama Proposes Infra Bank, Livability Grants, Doubling Transit Funds
| | No Comments
The White House has released a fact sheet on the transportation provisions in the President’s budget. [PDF] Here are the highlights, straight from the document: Provides $13.4 billion in discretionary resources in 2012, a $1.3 billion decrease from 2010 levels. (This figure excludes $109 billion in obligation limitations for the surface transportation plan. Including surface […]
Obama Budget Proposes $556B, Long-term Transportation Bill
| | No Comments
The White House hasn’t released its FY2012 budget request yet. What we know so far is that it’s a $3.7 trillion budget that would reduce the deficit from $1.6 trillion projected for 2011 to $1.2 trillion next year. President Obama “trims or terminates” more than 200 federal programs, according to the Washington Post, but has […]
What to Look For in President Obama’s Budget Request on Monday
| | No Comments
On Valentine’s Day, President Obama’s heart-shaped box of chocolates to Congress will come in the form of his budget request for 2012. It will include the president’s proposal for a six-year transportation reauthorization. The FY2012 budget request comes as Congress is still wrangling over the budget for the rest of FY2011 (which, by the way, […]
Buses vs. Rail: Conservatives Do Battle Over Which Mode is Better
| | No Comments
Bill Lind is a big man. The director of the Center for Public Transportation at American Conservative stands well over six feet tall, and when he really gets going, he seems to loom even larger. Maybe that’s why he hates buses so much. “Those seats are designed for garden gnomes,” he said. A roundtable discussion […]
Retired Military Leaders, Corporate CEOs: Driving Alone Aids Terrorists
| | No Comments
What do the president of FedEx, the former Director of National Intelligence, and 19 other business and military leaders have in common? They’re urging the U.S. to adopt less oil-intensive transportation habits. They say our national security depends on it. Retired military officers have joined forces with business tycoons to form the Energy Security Leadership […]
GOP Moves Ahead With Deep Cuts to Transportation, Housing
| | No Comments
The House Appropriations Committee voted last night to move ahead with deep spending cuts, totaling $32 billion, to the remainder of the FY2011 budget. It’s still not the $100 billion the GOP wanted to cut, and some committee Republicans voted no, saying the cuts were still too small. Tell that to Americorps volunteers, who will see their […]
House Democrats Begin to Push Back on Draconian GOP Spending Cuts
| | No Comments
Hasn’t it felt lately like Capitol Hill is in some kind of bizarre vortex? On one hand, everyone acknowledges the November election was all about “jobs, jobs, jobs.” And President Obama is pushing for some serious government investment in passenger rail and other infrastructure projects to create jobs and build the foundation for economic growth. […]
“Amtrak Joe” Biden, in Philly, Announces a New Plan for High-Speed Rail
| | No Comments
The Obama administration is taking its infrastructure push on the road. First stop: Philadelphia, to announce a $53 billion plan to invest in high-speed rail. To Vice President Joe Biden, high-speed rail isn’t just another administration initiative. He’s Mr. Amtrak. He gets it. Biden says he’s made 7,900 round trips between Wilmington and Washington on […]
Obama Finally Brings the Chamber a Fruitcake (It’s Called Infrastructure)
| | No Comments
President Obama paid a visit to the Chamber of Commerce this morning, trying to make nice after a hot-and-cold couple of years. “I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly,” Obama said by way of introduction. “Maybe we would have gotten off on a better foot if I had brought over a fruitcake when […]
GOP Targets Transportation, Housing For the Deepest Cuts
| | No Comments
The House Appropriations Committee yesterday gave a glimpse into their plans to cut spending as promised. Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) set spending ceilings each of the 12 Appropriations subcommittees, cutting the budget for the Transportation and HUD Subcommittee by 17 percent, or $11.6 billion. It is, by far, the most dramatic of all the cuts. […]
AASHTO Suggests Some Tools for Getting Out of the Transpo Funding Mess
| | No Comments
The Problem: Highway Trust Fund revenues only cover about 44 percent of the transportation system’s needs. The Solution: an alphabet soup of funding and financing mechanisms (they’re different!) which, if used optimally, could supplement gas taxes and tolls and boost transportation investment. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) just came out […]