Senate committee boosts funding for clean transportation in the climate bill
October 26, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
| Please thank your senators for moving forward on this landmark bill and ask them to continue to support strong transportation measures in the climate bill. |
The long-awaited allocations in the Senate climate bill were released over the weekend, and the news is good for increasing access to cleaner transportation options. Late Friday evening, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released the final numbers on where the revenues raised under a cap-and-trade climate bill would be directed.
The Senate nearly triples the funding for clean, sustainable transportation over the House climate bill, which only set aside an optional one percent of funding. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill has some details on the allocations.)
After hearing from advocates and their colleagues in the Senate, the authors of the Senate climate bill agreed to include a higher, guaranteed level of funding (roughly 2.4% over the life of the bill) for clean transportation options, such as public transportation, affordable neighborhoods around transit stops, vanpooling and streets safe for walking and biking.
We want to let the Senate know, especially those committee members, that we appreciate their leadership on this issue and we want them to defend that funding as the bill moves through other Senate committees. There is still a long road ahead for the climate bill and the Senate needs to know you will support their efforts to continue fighting for more money for clean transportation.
Take a moment to thank senators for making clean transportation part of the climate bill — and tell them to defend that money over the coming weeks.
Transportation for America is happy for the strong transportation provisions, but we are not stopping at 2.4%. We’re going to continue asking the Senate to increase that amount as the bill moves forward. It only makes sense — transportation pollution is responsible for nearly one-third of our national greenhouse gas emissions.
We applaud Sen. Barbara Boxer and the rest of the Senate EPW Committee for this strong statement that funding clean transportation options is a vital part of reducing our emissions.
Bay Area business leaders push the Senate for clean transportation
October 22, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Carl Guardino 1 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
| Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a T4 America partner, addresses a gathering at a recent reception hosted by T4 America that brought together administration officials and supporters. |
An organization representing more than 300 elite Silicon Valley businesses from Apple to Yahoo! sent a letter last week to Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, urging her to make sure the Senate climate bill adequately invests in clean transportation alternatives to reduce emissions in their region while keeping it mobile and competitive.
The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, made up of mostly tech-focused organizations in Silicon Valley, works to enhance economic competitiveness and maintain a high quality of life for the region. SVLG members employ more than 250,000 people in the Valley and generate more than $1 trillion worth of business each year. (SVLG is a partner of Transportation for America.)
Started in the 1970’s by the founder of Hewlett Packard, they recognize that investments in transit and safe, accessible, walkable neighborhoods are keys to their continued economic success and ability to lure smart and talented workers to the region.
In the letter, president Carl Guardino thanked Chairman Boxer for her leadership on the issue of climate change, and pointed out that California will need to make a large investment in cleaner transportation options if they are going to have any chance of meeting the ambitious reductions proposed in the climate bill:
Transportation represents the fastest growing source of national greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and the largest single source in California, accounting for 40% of emissions. In Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, that number is higher still – 51% of GHG’s.
House bill, H.R. 2454 (Waxman/Markey), recognizes the importance of reducing transportation emissions by requiring states and metropolitan areas adopt new planning requirements and GHG reduction goals. However, the bill provides virtually no allowances for this purpose. Without adequate funding to address transportation’s increasing contribution to climate change, we will not be able to rise and meet this challenge.
The debate over the Senate’s climate bill is expected to heat up in the next few days as Chairman Boxer’s Senate committee releases the numbers showing where the allocations from the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will be directed.
Transportation for America, our 28,000 supporters and 350+ partners like SVLG have been calling on the Senate to direct 10 percent of the funding to clean transportation alternatives.
The Senate bill will require states and cities to reduce emissions from transportation. Giving them 5-10% of the revenues will give them the tools they need to make investments in clean transportation alternatives, like public transportation and passenger rail, affordable neighborhoods around transit stops and neighborhood projects that increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
Click the jump to read through the entire letter from the SVLG.
(Continue Reading)
T4 America health fly-in participant meets Senator Barbara Boxer
October 15, 2009By Sean Barry
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| Julia Lopez meets Sen. Boxer Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
Fourteen-year-old Julia Lopez, right, a childhood wellness advocate from Los Angeles, CA, met California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer in the Capitol yesterday. Lopez is in Washington, D.C. to participate in Transportation for America’s “health fly-in” to speak with Congressional representatives about the link between and health and transportation. Lopez will address her own advocacy against childhood obesity during Congressional meetings and this morning at a briefing in the Capitol Visitors’ Center.
Read more about the health fly-in in this press release.
Tell your Senators: Boost funding for clean transportation in the climate bill
October 8, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Last week, Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry unveiled a landmark climate bill that could set us on the path toward cleaner, safer and smarter transportation. But one piece still doesn’t quite add up: the funding.
To truly address climate change, the Senate has to fix the serious funding gap in the House climate bill: The House bill directs only an optional one percent of the money it will raise toward clean transportation options, even though nearly one-third of our CO² emissions come from transportation.
Tell your Senators: You can’t solve 30% of the problem with only 1% of the funding.
Now is the time to make ourselves heard: The Senate climate bill doesn’t contain any funding levels yet, so there is still an opportunity to make sure that it includes enough funding to create cleaner, more affordable transportation options for everyday Americans.
Senators Boxer and Kerry deserve our thanks and support — the bill already makes significant strides toward cleaner transportation. It would direct states and metro areas to make plans to reduce transportation emissions and set targets over the coming decades. These goals are a tremendous — and essential — component of the legislation.
But these targets will be nearly impossible to meet if the bill only provides a miniscule share of its funding for cleaner and more fuel-efficient transportation.
Help make sure we both set meaningful goals AND provide communities with the means to reach them. Tell your Senators to adequately fund clean transportation in the climate bill.
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