ProPublica’s Michael Grabell speaks with Brian Lehrer on his new book “Monday Well Spent?” analyzing the stimulus bill. Other insights: the bill created the tea-party, no one had any idea which projects were stimulus projects, and no one noticed when their teachers weren’t fired. And — the bill wasn’t nearly as effective as it could…
The House Ways and Means Committee voted to to remove funding for transit from the highway trust fund by a 20 to 17 vote. The vote was mostly along party lines, with two Republicans voting against it. In his opening statement, House Ways and Means Committee Chair David Camp (R-MI) said: “The Congressional Budget Office…
(Houston, TX — Gail Delaughter, KUHF) Business leaders gathered in Houston this week to look at ways to position the region as the “Gateway to North America.” Harris County’s International Trade and Transportation Conference focused on how goods are transported from the Port of Houston by truck and rail, and what needs to be done…
It’s not just the advocates who hate the new transpo bill. So does Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican Congressman from Illinois. “This is the most partisan transportation bill that I have ever seen,” LaHood told Politico. “And it also is the most anti-safety bill I have ever seen. It hollows out our No….
Breaking now from the Senate: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that two of the biggest and most controversial transportation items on Congress’s docket will be up on the Senate floor next week. Reid said the Senate will vote Monday on the final House-Senate agreement authorizing the Federal Aviation Administration. A deal of FAA…
A House committee defeated an attempt to mandate federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure Thursday morning. As TN reported earlier this week, the House wants to eliminate so-called transportation “enhancements” that require states to spend up to 10% of surface transportation money on non-highway projects like bike paths or beautification projects. At least two…
The reviews are in on the House transportation bill: “It’s like funding a quit-smoking program by lowering the smoking age to generate more revenue from cigarette taxes.” (USPIRG statement) “It would reverse all the progress we have made in the past 20 years…horrible.” (League of American Bicyclists) “This bill is less about creating jobs and…
House Republicans rolled out parts of a $260 billion transportation infrastructure bill Tuesday, casting the legislation as a major vehicle for job creation and energy production. The five-year bill reauthorizes highway, transit and safety programs but also eliminates or consolidates dozens of existing federal functions. Supporters said its designed to streamline federally-funded projects, cut bureaucratic…
(Michael Grabell, ProPublica) [1]This story was adapted from “Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History [1],” which will be published Tuesday by PublicAffairs. A common criticism of President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package has been that it failed to produce anything – that while the New…
State Senator Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) introduced legislation today that would put high-speed rail back on the November ballot in California. The measure would give voters the chance to de-authorize the $9 billion bond measure passed in 2008. According to Mark Spannagel, spokesman for Senator LaMalfa, the measure would “eliminate the project.” In a statement, LaMalfa…
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Transportation Nation is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, whose Transportation Initiative is promoting
equitable and sustainable development in communities across the country. More at rockfound.org.
