All posts from the month of February 2009
Attend our platform launch this Thursday at the U.S. Capitol
February 23, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Come and join us!
This Thursday on Capitol Hill, we will be releasing our full campaign platform for the upcoming transportation bill, with some very special guests in attendance. If you are in the DC area, (or can make it here by Thursday!), please join us for an entertaining, informative discussion on the future of transportation in America as we officially launch Transportation For America’s platform.
Be sure to keep tabs here on the campaign blog throughout this week. We’ll have the full platform posted later this week after the launch.
Hope to see you Thursday.
Today’s Headlines — 02/23/09
February 23, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Ridership on New York City’s transit system was the highest in almost six decades in 2008.
- A suggestion by U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood to start taxing motorists by how many miles they drive is shot down by the White House. (U.S. News and World Report)
- How to make transit financially self-reliant. (Cap’n Transit Rides Again)
Today’s Headlines — 02/20/09
February 20, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood discusses the possibility of a taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive. (Associated Press)
- Virginia’s Department of Transportation announces plans to cut 450 jobs. (Virginian Pilot)
- The New York Times looks at what stimulus funds will do for high-speed rail across the U.S.
Today’s Headlines — 02/19/09
February 19, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Missouri Department of Transportation begins work on the first stimulus-funded infrastructure project. (St. Louis Business Journal)
- US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood says Obama wants to make high-speed rail “a signature achievement of his presidency.” (Washington Post)
- Car travel continued to decline through December. (Reuters)
- Officials in Idaho look at the prospect of providing affordable and efficient transit in their state. (KPWI)
President Obama: “I would like to see some long-term reforms in how transportation dollars flow…”
February 18, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
President Obama gave an interview to five columnists aboard Air Force One last week en route to Chicago, and he talked at length about infrastructure, transportation, and the need to make serious reforms in transportation spending this year when the five-year transportation bill is reauthorized. He hinted at how proper investments in transportation and infrastructure can help boost the economy and meet other national goals like reducing energy usage — all while making a downpayment on a 21st Century transportation system we’re all hoping for.
 |
| President Obama with his Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. From the Obama-Biden Transition Project’s Flickr stream (Creative Commons) |
An excerpt from the very long interview:
Q. Mr. President, if I could ask you about infrastructure, You’ve got infrastructure spending in the stimulus package. The need is much faster than that and the money is tight. Do you anticipate any significant further additions in federal infrastructure spending in the reasonably near future, and are you making plans to establish an infrastructure bank?
President Obama: Well, number one, we’ve got the transportation reauthorization bill that’s going to be coming up. So one thing to keep some perspective about on the recovery package is this is supposed to provide a jolt to the economy above and beyond what we’re doing already in the federal budget. And so I expect that Secretary LaHood, working with the various transportation committees are going to be moving forward on a transportation bill. I would like to see some long-term reforms in how transportation dollars flow, and I’ll give you just a couple of examples. I think right now we don’t do a lot of effective planning at the regional level when it comes to transportation. That’s hugely inefficient. Not only does it probably consume more money in terms of getting projects done, but it also ends up creating traffic patterns, for example, that are really hugely wasteful when it comes to energy use.
If we can start building in more incentives for more effective planning at the local level, that’s not just good transportation policy, it’s good energy policy. So we’ll be working with transportation committees to see if we can move in that direction.
The idea of an infrastructure bank I think make sense — the idea that we get engineers, and not just elected officials, involved in thinking about and planning how we’re spending these dollars. I may get some objections from my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, on the Hill about that, but I think there should be some way for us to — just think how can we rationalize the process to get the most bang for the buck, because the needs are massive and we can’t do everything, and if it’s estimated that just on infrastructure alone it would cost a couple trillion dollars to get our roads, bridges, sewer systems, et cetera, up to snuff, and we know we’re not going to have that money, then it would be nice if we said here are the 10 most important projects and let’s do those first, instead of maybe doing the 10 least important projects but the ones that have the most political pull.
Transportation Secretary LaHood on Obama’s recovery package
February 17, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
U.S. DOT Secretary Ray Lahood released his statement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and he’s saying many of the right things. Of course, the true test will come when the states start deciding where to spend the flexible transportation dollars in the stimulus package. Will states choose to make a dent in the severely backlogged repair and maintenance needs before building new highways?
(On that note, Recovery.gov also launched today, where anyone can track where the stimulus money is being spent.)
A notable excerpt from the middle of LaHood’s release:
—
We will use the transportation funding in the Act to deliver jobs and restore our nation’s economy. We will emphasize sustainable investment and focus our policies on the people, businesses and communities who use the transportation systems. And, we will focus on the quality of our environment. We will build and restore our transportation foundations until the American dream is returned.
We will invest in jobs to expand transit capacity and modernize transit systems. Transit is a centerpiece of my focus on livable communities and our Department will work closely with Vice President Biden’s “Middle-class Taskforce” on transit initiatives.
We will invest in jobs to allow Amtrak to add and modernize cars and engines and upgrade its tracks.
We will invest in jobs to expand airport capacity and make safety improvements.
We will invest in jobs to build and rehabilitate and make safer roads, highways, bridges and ports.
And we will invest in jobs to launch high-speed rail in America. This will transform intercity transportation in America, reduce our carbon footprint, relieve congestion on the roads and in the skies, and take advantage of a mode of transportation that has already benefited Europe and Japan for many years.
There are those who argue that we need to waive environmental regulations to put people to work more quickly, but that is simply not the case. We have a backlog of worthwhile transportation projects waiting for funding that have already met those standards. We are ready to build a new transportation infrastructure and we will work to keep it green.
I have met with state officials and other transportation stakeholders, and we have discussed how the money can be spent quickly to create jobs on projects that make long-term sense for our transportation systems in communities across the nation. We also reviewed the need for transparency and full accountability on this spending. We will do things by the book.
Summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
February 17, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
For those of you who don’t check the “Campaign News” tab at top on a regular basis or get the full RSS feed, we posted our full summary of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you are interested in the full, detailed, numerical breakdown of transportation spending in the stimulus package, this is the post for you.
Full summary of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
February 17, 2009By Transportation for America
This is Transportation For America’s full summary of the provisions and funding requirements for transportation in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read our statement on the final passage of the Act from last Friday here.
Download this full document (.doc)
Surface Transportation Program
The conference agreement provides $27,500,000,000, instead of $30,000,000,000 as proposed by the House and $27,060,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
- 50% of funds distributed to State DOTs by STP formula
- 50% of funds distributed to States under the FY08 obligation
- State DOTs have 120 days to use the funds or lose them to other States, but they can petition DOT for a one-year extension.
- 30% of all State funds are suballocated to local areas, which are not subject to the use-it or lose-it redistribution requirements.
- 3% set aside for Transportation Enhancements.
- There is no requirement to prioritize repair and maintenance; project selection priority is given to projects that can be completed within 3 years and are located in economically distressed areas.
- Flexibility provided to State DOTs to fund passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects.
- $60 million included as discretionary capital grants by USDOT for projects that can be completed in 2 years.
- $40,000,000 included for DOT oversight and administration.
Passenger and Freight Rail Programs
The conference agreement provides:
- $8,000,000,000 for high-speed rail corridors and intercity passenger rail service. Funds are allocated by DOT between the Capital Assistance to States program and a new High Speed Passenger Rail program.
- Projects do not have to be in a state rail plan and there is a 100% federal share.
- DOT will submit a strategic funding plan within 60 days and issue interim guidance covering grant terms, conditions and procedures within 120 days.
- $1,300,000,000 for AMTRAK instead of $800,000,000 in the House and $850,000,000 in the Senate. Of the total funds, $450,000,000 is for capital grants for security improvements. No more than 60% of the remaining funds shall be spent for capital improvements on the Northeast Corridor.
Transit
The conference agreement provides:
- $6,900,000,000 for transit capital projects instead of $8,400,000,000 proposed by the Senate and $7,500,000,000 proposed by the House.
- 80% allocated by FTA urbanized formula, 10% is FTA rural, and 10% is FTA growing states and high-density formula.
- Includes $100,000,000 (instead of the $200,000,000 proposed by the Senate) for discretionary grants to public transit agencies for capital investments that will assist in reducing the energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions of their public transit agencies.
- Transit agencies have 180 days to use the funds or lose them to other States, but they can petition DOT for a one year extension.
- $750,000,000 instead of $2,000,000,000 as proposed by the House for Rail Modernization and Repair
- Funds also have 180 day use-it or lose-it provisions.
- $750,000,000 instead of $2,500,000,000 in House for New Starts and Small Starts projects that are? already in construction or are nearly ready to begin construction.
- Priority for projects already under construction or able to obligate within 150 days. The funds are available through Sept. 30, 2012.
Supplemental Discretionary Grants
$1,500,000,000 instead of $5,500,000,000 proposed by the Senate for projects with national, metropolitan, or regional significance.
- Continues intermodal focus, noting interstate and bridge maintenance and repair, freight and passenger rail, intermodal ports, and new starts/small starts are specifically eligible.
- Changes funding eligibility to include transit agencies directly.
- Projects that require less than a 100% Federal share are prioritized.
- DOT selection criteria will be published within 90 days; projects nominated within 180 days; and the winners selected within 1 year. Projects must be complete within 3 years.
- The program includes $1.5 million for DOT administration and oversight.
Other key elements in the bill related to transportation:
Recovery Zone Bonds
Creates a new category of tax credit bonds for investment in economic recovery zones. Authorizes $10 billion in recovery zone economic development bonds and $15 billion in recovery zone facility bonds to be issued during 2009 and 2010. Each state would receive a share of the national allocation based on that state’s job losses in 2008 as a percentage of national job losses in 2008 (each state will receive a minimum allocation of these bonds) which will be sub-allocated to local municipalities. The funds may be spent to invest in infrastructure, job training, education, and economic development in areas within the boundaries of the State, city or county (as the case may be) that has significant poverty, unemployment or home foreclosures. This proposal is estimated to cost $5.371 billion over 10 years.
Modify Speed Requirement for High-Speed Rail Exempt Facility Bonds
Under current law, States are allowed to issue private activity bonds for high-speed rail facilities as long as the facility will transport passengers between metropolitan areas using vehicles that are reasonably expected to operate at speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour between scheduled stops. This provision would allow these bonds to be used to develop rail facilities that are used by trains that are capable of attaining speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour. This proposal is estimated to cost $288 million over 10 years.
Infrastructure Financing Tools – Tax Credit Bond Option for State and Local Governments (“Build America Bonds”)
The Federal government provides significant financial support to State and local governments through the federal tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds, which reduces the cash interest payments that a State or local government must make on its debt. Tax credit bonds differ from tax-exempt bonds in two principal ways: (1) interest paid on tax credit bonds is taxable; and (2) a portion of the interest paid on tax credit bonds takes the form of a Federal tax credit. The Federal tax credit offsets a portion of the cash interest payment that the State or local government would otherwise need to make on the borrowing. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide State and local governments with the option of issuing a tax credit bond instead of a tax-exempt governmental obligation bond. Because the market for tax credits is currently small given current economic conditions, the bill would allow the State or local government to elect to receive a direct payment from the Federal government equal to the subsidy that would have otherwise been delivered through the Federal tax credit for bonds. This proposal is estimated to cost $4.348 billion over 10 years.
Reinvestment in Renewable Energy – Parity for Transit Benefits
Current law provides a tax-free fringe benefit employers can provide to employees for transit and parking. Those benefits are set at different dollar amounts. This provision would equalize the tax-free benefit employers can provide for transit and parking. The proposal sets both the parking and transit benefits at $230 a month for 2009, indexes them equally for 2010, and clarifies that certain transit benefits apply to federal employees. This provision is estimated to cost $192 million over ten years.
Today’s Headlines — 02/17/09
February 17, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- The Obama administration moves ahead on high-speed rail. (Politico)
- Americans voice their support for infrastructure funding in a new poll. (Triangle Business Journal)
- Illinois officials ponder how to get the best bang-for-the-buck with their stimulus dollars. (MSNBC)
- Social and economic theorist Richard Florida looks at how the economic crisis will alter America’s urban and suburban landscape. (Atlantic)
Though a Worthy Down Payment, Stimulus Raises Urgent Need for New Transportation Vision
February 13, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
| Download this Release (.pdf) Download this Release (.doc) |
||
| Contact: David Goldberg 202-412-7930 david.goldberg@t4america.org Ben Grossman-Cohen 202-478-6185 bgrossman-cohen@mrss.com |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The transportation spending priorities in the stimulus bill conference report passed by the House of Representatives today are a significant departure from the status quo and ought to represent the leading edge of a major new thrust in our national infrastructure policy. The Senate is expected to pass the conference report as soon as tonight.
Given the need for haste in crafting the bill, congressional and Administration negotiators were handcuffed by backward-looking, existing programs even as they tried to shape investments for a future of reduced oil dependency, greater opportunity for Americans to join the middle class and cleaner transportation choices. Despite some shortcomings resulting from current transportation law, Congress has adopted a bill that if properly enacted by state and local authorities, could be a down payment on a new direction for America’s infrastructure:
- $27.5 billion allocated to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) that should go a long way to restoring our transportation networks to a state of good repair. Unfortunately, Congress neglected to include language ensuring this money is prioritized to fix crumbling roads and bridges, so now the onus is on state and local governments to ensure these funds are not spent improperly.
- Unprecedented flexibility for spending STP funds — traditionally spent mostly on highways — on ports, transit, passenger and freight rail or other projects as national, state or regional needs may require.
- A significant share of transportation dollars directed to local decision makers and metropolitan regions rather than state departments of transportation.
- $8.4 billion for public transportation, recognizing the strong and growing demand for transit service. However, none of these funds can be used to prevent cuts in service and jobs at transit agencies suffering from massive budget shortfalls. It is up to Congress to ensure this gap is filled in upcoming appropriations negotiations.
- $9.3 billion for intercity and high-speed passenger rail, an encouraging indication that Congress realizes how important it is to expand alternatives to our overburdened highway and aviation networks.
- The inclusion of up to $825 million for projects that will make our streets safer for walking and biking, providing help for commuters who have increasingly turned to these alternatives to save money and increase their physical activity.
When President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it will provide a down payment on the transportation investment needed to get our economy moving. But the urgency of recreating our national transportation program to address the challenges of the future is more starkly clear than ever.
Now Congress and the Obama-Biden administration must begin consideration of the successor legislation to the expiring SAFETEA-LU law — our current, 1950s-era federal transportation program. This critically important legislation must provide a new 21st Century vision for investment in our transportation system that is safer, healthier, cleaner, more equitable and smarter so that our nation can compete and thrive in the future economy.
-
- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
May 15, 2012 - U.S. communities step up, hoping a strong federal commitment to infrastructure will follow
May 10, 2012 - Graphic: A closer look at the Senate MAP-21 vote by state
March 27, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: Cutting regulatory burdens and bureaucracy
March 15, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: reducing air pollution by providing more travel options
March 13, 2012
- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
Connect with T4 America
Interactive Features and Reports
T4 America on Twitter
