A commitment from Congress to spend $13 billion over the next five years to fund Amtrak is sparking an interest in linking the Midwest’s big cities with efficient, clean, high-speed rail. (Chicago Tribune — Jon Hilkevitch)

U.S. automakers are months away from being able to use $25 billion in low-interest loans from the federal government. (Associated Press — Ken Thomas)

A $56 billion stimulus package aimed directly at struggling Americans — as well as beleaguered transit agencies — gets knocked down in the Senate. (Bloomberg — Brian Faler)

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn blocks legislation to improve safety for the nation’s trains, objecting to the bill’s $14 billion price tag and a provision giving a funding boost to Amtrak. (Wall Street Journal — Christopher Conkey)

Continuing their gradual shift on offshore drilling, House Democrats are now pushing a bill to open up U.S. coastlines to oil exploration. (New York Times — Carle Hulse)

The following article, which was written by T.R. Goldman for the newspaper Roll Call, focuses on the Transportation for America Campaign and its nationwide push for a better transportation program. The story is posted below in its entirety and can also be viewed here by subscribers to Roll Call. It comes around every half-dozen or [...]

Led by speaker Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House approves a bill to allow drilling 100 miles off the east and west coasts — as close as 50 miles with states’ permission — while taxing oil companies and promoting investment in renewable energy. (Boston Globe — Lisa Wangsness)

While mass transit agencies are struggling with rising costs and surging ridership, Congress is considering loaning $25 billion to struggling automakers to help them make more fuel-efficient vehicles. (New York Sun — Russell Berman)

The U.S. Senate approves a plan to move $8 billion dollars into the highway trust fund. (Associated Press)

As buses in Topeka, Kansas fill up with more passengers and the local transit authority struggles to maintain service, the Topeka Capital-Journal‘s editorial board urges Congress to buckle down on finding ways to fund mass transit.