Rep. James Oberstar wrote a letter to the supporters and coalition members of T4 America this week that we’d like to share. Rep. Oberstar has been a tireless advocate for transportation during his 18 terms in Congress, working to build a 21st century transportation system that saves money, gives us more options, keeps us safer and gets us where we’re going. After reading the letter, leave a message of thanks for Rep. Oberstar that we’ll share with him early in 2010.

LaHood with Mayor Fenty, DDOT Director Gabe Klein and Reps. Blumenauer and Oberstar. Photo courtesy of USDOT. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made a point of championing bicycling as a legitimate travel option everywhere, but he is also keeping an eye on his own backyard, including Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. LaHood joined DC Mayor [...]

President Obama stressed America’s reliance on oil during his Oval Office address last week, noting that we consume 20 percent of the world’s reserves while supplying only 2 percent. The transportation sector accounts for 70 percent of the nation’s oil consumption. The need for a blueprint to address these imbalances could not be clearer, says Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Peter Lehner. Lehner points to the T4 Blueprint as an important guidepost.

A single Senator kept the Senate from passing an emergency one-month extension of the current transportation bill today, leaving it to expire over the weekend and threatening the flow of money to transportation programs. So come Monday or Tuesday, federal transportation agencies from the Department of Transportation to the Federal Transit Administration will be furloughing employees and in a state of near shutdown.

UPDATE #2: The House passed the 3-month extension of the transport bill under suspension of the rules yesterday, with a 335-85 vote in favor of the extension. UPDATED: The bill will likely be voted on today under suspension of the rules, and there will be at least some GOP opposition to it. Elana Schor at [...]

At least that’s what the American Planning Association Transportation Planning Division is reporting on their blog. According to their story, Chairman Oberstar of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is planning a full committee mark-up of the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 as soon as Congress comes back from the August recess.

With the House passing a $7 billion patch for the Highway Trust Fund yesterday afternoon to keep it from running out of money before September, we thought it might be useful to post a brief Q&A about the trust fund patch and how the full six-year transportation authorization bill could be affected. The $7 billion patch moves to the Senate for a vote, probably this afternoon, before reaching President Obama’s desk.

On Monday, June 29th the Minnesota Coalition of Transportation for America welcomed community, city, and state leaders to learn more about the T4 America vision for the next federal transportation bill — and how Minnesotans would benefit from a reformed federal transportation program.

AASHTO’s president says gas taxes need to go up. (Baltimore Sun) Protecting our climate and gaining more energy independence begins, and doesn’t end, with the climate bill making its way through Congress. (Reuters) The speed of spending federal stimulus dollars remains a contentious issue. (USA Today) Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar looks to [...]

h/t Twitter @JimOberstar