Recent Streetsblog SF posts about U.S. Senate

Dodd Stays at Helm of Transit Panel — But at a Cost to Climate Bill?

By Elana Schor | Sep 9, 2009 | 1 Comment

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced this afternoon that he would stay on at the helm of the Banking Committee, which also has jurisdiction over federal transit issues, rather than move over to lead the health panel previously led by his friend, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) (Photo: The Washington Note) […]

Compromise or Concession: Congress Faces Tough Transport Choices

By Elana Schor | Sep 8, 2009 | No Comments

Health care and transportation funding are very different items on Congress’ to-do list, but the Washington Post’s assessment of the former issue fits the latter as well: Lawmakers return today from a month-long recess to find a political landscape that has barely shifted from the impasse of late July. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) (Photo: UPI) […]

Mmmm, This ‘Pork’ Sounds Tasty: Senators Serve Up Transit Aid

By Elana Schor | Sep 3, 2009 | No Comments

One of Washington’s most enduring truisms is that "pork" is in the eye of the beholder. Self-styled anti-earmark crusaders are fond of bashing clean transportation projects as improper uses of taxpayer money, but most of them recognize privately that rail, bus, and bike investments are a good thing. He may not like to admit it, […]

Senator Dukakis? What the Loss of Kennedy Could Mean for Transport Policy

By Elana Schor | Aug 31, 2009 | No Comments

As the nation mourns the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), a discussion has begun over how to fill his outsized shoes, both in Massachusetts’ Senate seat and atop the Senate health committee — two vacancies that could have notable consequences for transportation policy-making. Is rail booster Michael Dukakis headed for the U.S. Senate? (Photo: […]

Report: Boxer ‘Sympathetic to’ Backers of More Climate Money for Transit

By Elana Schor | Aug 14, 2009 | 1 Comment

As Senator Barbara Boxer works on her upcoming climate change bill, the Senate environment committee chairman is "definitely looking at" a plan to give green transport 10 percent of the revenue generated from carbon emissions caps, according to a new report from BNA’s Transportation Watch. Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) (Photo: Politics Now) […]

Senate’s New DOT Spending Bill Eases One Transit Funding Barrier

By Elana Schor | Aug 11, 2009 | 3 Comments

An artist’s rendering of the proposed multi-modal Columbia River Crossing, with light rail and a bike path beneath the bridge. (Photo: Oregonian) During the lengthy process of pursuing a "New Starts" funding agreement with the U.S. DOT, local transit officials are often at the mercy of cost-benefit calculations that have failed to keep pace with […]

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