INVEST Act passes: an overdue paradigm shift toward accomplishing measurable outcomes that prioritizes repair, safety, and access
We congratulate the House of Representatives for passing the INVEST Act, a transportation bill that commits to a fix it first approach, prioritizing safety over speed, and connecting people to jobs and essential services—whether they drive or not,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America.
House transportation proposal focuses on updating nation’s outdated transportation policy to get better results
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s proposal for long-term transportation policy makes repair, safety, climate change, and access to jobs and services core goals for the bill’s spending, rather than as nice add-ons— taking a dramatically different approach than the Senate proposal.
Release: Transportation for America on Republicans’ second infrastructure proposal
“We’re disappointed to see Republicans—again—fail to provide any real infrastructure policy proposal, opting instead for small amounts of funding pumped through the broken transportation program.
Release: Transportation for America on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021
“The status quo is sending us backwards.”
Statement on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021
Federal transportation policy has very serious problems to solve, from increasing pedestrian deaths, skyrocketing emissions, and the lack of equitable access to jobs and essential services. This bill tried to tackle them in the way we have seen in the past. It creates exciting new programs with a small amount of funding in the hope that it can fix the problems that will continue to be created by the much larger status quo program.
Statement on Surface Transportation Board’s expanded capacity
A statement from Transportation for America chairman and former mayor of Meridian, MS, John Robert Smith, on the Surface Transportation Board (STB)’s recently expanded capacity:
Release: Over 100 elected officials, cities, and organizations support $39.3 billion for transit
Over 100 elected officials, cities and organizations urge Congress to provide $39.3 billion in emergency funding for public transportation to preserve transit service through 2023
RELEASE: The emergency funding for transit and Amtrak is good but not enough
Late Monday evening, Congress passed appropriations for fiscal year 2021 that included $908 billion in a supplemental COVID-19 relief package. Transportation for America and our partners the Alliance for a Just Society, NRDC, and U.S. PIRG released this statement:
Over 160 elected officials and organizations support fundamental changes to the federal transportation program
In a letter to Congressional leadership, over 160 elected officials and organizations urge Congress to prioritize maintenance, safety over speed, and access to jobs and services in the next long-term transportation law
Transportation for America’s statement on Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary nominee
Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg has just been picked as President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Transportation. Here is a statement from our director, Beth Osborne, on his selection.
“We are very excited to hear that Pete Buttigieg has been nominated to be Secretary of Transportation,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America. “As mayor of South Bend, he showed great commitment to the safety of all road users through Complete Streets and that Complete Streets were about economic development because they better serve local residents and businesses. For example, our sister organization, the National Complete Streets Coalition, worked directly with South Bend on a Complete Streets demonstration project focused on reducing speeding on a neighborhood street. As a candidate for president, he proposed a fix-it-first approach to highway funding, a national Vision Zero strategy, and measures to organize the federal transportation program around improving access to jobs and essential services for drivers and non-drivers alike. We look forward to working with him in his new post at USDOT.”
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure beyond just the price tag. Learn more about T4America's three simple principles for federal transportation investment.
Read our new principles