Skip to main content

Demand a greener future for transportation. Tell your senator to support the GREEN Streets Act.

A hazy orange sunset descends over rows and rows of cars traveling down a highway

New legislation introduced by Senator Markey, the GREEN Streets Act, seeks to establish goals for emissions reduction and resilience in our transportation system, marking a pivotal step in alleviating the climate crisis on our roadways. Tell your senator to cosponsor this legislation.

A hazy orange sunset descends over rows and rows of cars traveling down a highway
Photo by Aleksandr Popov on Unsplash

Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, and the bulk of them come from driving. To reduce these emissions, our transportation system requires more opportunities to travel outside of a car.

Yet, federal transportation policy and funding historically, at all levels, have encouraged projects that expand highway networks at the expense of public and active transportation. Our recent analysis demonstrated that even with landmark legislation like the IIJA, touted for its climate programs, states are continuing to designate billions of dollars towards expanding road capacity. Such a car-oriented design forces people to drive for longer and more frequent trips, creating more congestion—and generating more emissions.

On January 25, 2024, Senator Ed Markey introduced the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National (GREEN) Streets Act, co-sponsored by Senator Merkley, with companion legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Huffman. This bill aims to reduce GHG emissions on all public roads and create resilient transportation systems that can adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

To achieve these goals, the GREEN Streets Act directs the Secretary of Transportation to create minimum standards for states to reduce GHG emissions, per capita VMT, and air pollutants on public roads. Furthermore, the bill requires states and metropolitan organizations (MPOs) to publish an analysis of the effects of projects that increase traffic capacity on environmental justice communities that are at higher risk of experiencing adverse health and climate impacts. These measures build on the GHG emissions measure released by USDOT, encouraging more transparency and accountability within our transportation system.

Investing in our transportation system means investing in social, economic, and environmental outcomes. It is crucial that federal investments help Americans safely, reliably, and affordably get to where they need to go. Federal legislation like the GREEN Streets Act will play a fundamental role in avoiding the worst effects of climate change and enhancing the resiliency and connectivity of our communities.

Help support this bill. Click here to ask your senator to be a co-sponsor.

USDOT is trying to eliminate a new requirement to track carbon emissions from transportation

USDOT is attempting to rescind a federal requirement for states and metro areas to measure their carbon emissions as part of a larger system of accountability for federal transportation spending.

This is from last year’s campaign about the measure for congestion, but the principle holds here: If buses are prioritized because of emissions targets, for example, a road can move more people more efficiently and with fewer emissions.

Update: The comment period has closed and we submitted a large batch of letters to USDOT. Check the blog for updates.

The 2012 transportation law (MAP-21) required transportation agencies to begin using a new system of performance measures to govern how federal dollars are spent and hold them accountable for making progress on important goals, like congestion, traffic fatalities, reliability, road/bridge condition, mode share and carbon emissions. For two years, USDOT worked to establish this new system, soliciting reams of public feedback, and finalizing the measures in January of this year.

Climate impacts aside, tracking carbon emissions is one of the best ways to judge how efficiently we’re moving people and goods. More on that in a minute.

The Trump Administration is attempting to repeal this carbon emissions measure. Take action and provide an official comment to USDOT in support of keeping it intact. (Official notice here)

TAKE ACTION

You may have been one of the thousands of folks who joined our coalition to successfully push USDOT to revise their measure for congestion and put value on providing transit, shared rides and safe walking or biking — rather than just incentivizing the construction of more expensive road capacity in every case in a vain attempt to “solve” congestion. During that process, we also succeeded in pushing USDOT to consider and include a carbon emissions measure to track the percent change in CO2 emissions generated by on-road mobile sources on most of our bigger roadways.

After first attempting to rescind the rule directly by fiat, USDOT was sued by environmental groups, and rightly so — once federal rules are implemented, they can only be undone by Congress or by a new rulemaking process that allows public feedback. So USDOT backed down and is going through the official channels, which means opening up a new comment period where interested groups and citizens can weigh in and urge them to preserve this CO2 rule as part of the new performance measure system.

But we’ll have to act fast — we need to have your letters by Monday, November 6, at noon, so we can deliver them before the deadline.

Measuring carbon emissions is a good yardstick for how efficiently a state or metro area is moving people and goods. Emissions will almost certainly go up if you’re only building new highways and not providing a wide range of transportation options in a congested corridor or region. Agencies should be encouraged — or at least rewarded — for finding ways to invest their transportation dollars so that trips can be taken on transit, on foot or by bike, or coordinated with land use so that trips can be shorter altogether. Measuring carbon emissions doesn’t give you the entire picture, but it is another valuable piece of the puzzle for evaluating the effectiveness of the spending decisions made by states and metro areas.

If USDOT manages to dump this measure, we will lose an important metric for determining who is using their funding to most efficiently connect people with destinations and move goods to market. Shouldn’t states and cities be aiming to move people more efficiently, emitting less carbon per trip? Or, if they decide that less efficiency is the way to go, shouldn’t taxpayers at least have a mechanism for tracking that and holding them accountable?

This administration is attempting to let transportation agencies make decisions while hiding the emission impacts from the public, removing a valuable metric for assessing how they’re spending your dollars. Let them know that we, the people who are paying for the transportation system, deserve to know what we are getting.

Comments are due by the end of the day on November 6. Click here to sign a letter that we’ll produce and deliver on your behalf.

For those of you who prefer to submit comments on your own, you can do so through the official rulemaking on Regulations.gov here and you can grab the letter text from our page here to paste in.

Help make TIGER roar in this year’s budget

With the multi-year transportation bill is behind us, Congress is currently considering an annual transportation spending bill with $600 million for the competitive TIGER grant program — an increase of $100 million over existing funding amounts. We need to support it this week as Congress finalizes a new budget to carry us into next year.

The incredibly popular TIGER grant program is one of the only ways that local communities like yours can apply for and win funds from the federal government for important priority projects of almost any kind, helping to get the best locally-supported projects with a high return on investment off the ground. Because it was not permanently authorized in the FAST Act, TIGER is subject to budget battles each year, and this year is no different.

Can you urge your representatives in Congress to pass an appropriations bill with the proposed $600 million in TIGER grant funding, in addition to preserving other key transportation programs?

Whether for new multimodal passenger rail stations in Normal and Alton, Illinois to take advantage of improved passenger rail connections between Chicago and St. Louis, an overhaul of the downtown street network in Dubuque, IA to expand the tax base by $77 million, or an improvement to the West Memphis port to boost cargo capacity by 2,000 percent with only a $10.9 million award, the competitive TIGER program ensures the best projects receive funds, and provides a level of accountability and transparency not currently available in many statewide transportation programs.

In just the past few years, the House has proposed to cut TIGER funding entirely or add restrictions so that transit, bike and pedestrian and multimodal projects can’t apply — only highway projects. This year, the Senate is proposing to keep the program unchanged and add $100 million in funding (the most recent round had $500 million), while the House proposed to slash it to just $100 million.

In addition to TIGER funding, we’re supporting more funding for new transit construction and the Senate levels for Amtrak funding. Communities all over the country are clamoring to expand transit and passenger rail service to meet booming demand and it’s not the time to reduce funding for those programs.

We are counting on your vocal support to ensure that Congress protect and preserve funding that local communities count on in this spending bill to keep the government open and functioning past this Friday.

Send a message to your members of Congress today and let them know that these issues matter to you and your community.

An amendment to improve the House transportation bill and support greater local control

The House transportation bill that’s beginning debate on the floor this afternoon is a major missed opportunity for giving cities, towns and local communities of all sizes greater access and control over federal transportation dollars. But there’s still a chance for the House to include an amendment to fix that, but it needs more support to move forward.

Davis Titus Amendment promo

First up, we’re holding an open conference call tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss the House transportation bill as they begin debate today. Join us on November 4th at 12 p.m. EST for a short call along with Smart Growth America to discuss what’s happening in the legislative process, what advocates need to know, and to answer your questions about this version of the bill. Negotiations are happening quickly and the House is likely to approve their bill by the end of the week.

REGISTER NOW

Secondly, the House is beginning floor debate this afternoon on the first batch of amendments to the bill, which means that the window is rapidly closing to improve it. With time quickly running out, we need to tell Congress why it’s important to give local towns and cities of all sizes more control over federal transportation dollars to invest in their local priorities, whether it be a project to improve a road, increase the reach of transit, or make a street safer for biking and walking.

Wherever you live, send a message to your representative and ask them to cosponsor the Davis-Titus amendment to give towns and cities of all sizes more access to and control over federal transportation dollars to invest in the smartest local projects.

But if you live in one of these districts listed below, your representative is one of just 13 that will ultimately decide today if this amendment can even be considered on the House floor. The House Rules Committee approved 29 amendments last night to move to the floor today, and they will decide on the rest of the 200-plus proposed amendments today. Without their approval, amendments will not reach the floor for a debate and vote. If you live in any of the thirteen districts listed below, call your representative today and urge them to move the Davis-Titus amendment to the House floor for consideration with the short script below:

“I’m calling to support amendment number 131 to the House’s transportation bill from Representatives Davis and Titus.

It would return more funding and control over federal transportation dollars to local communities like mine. More funding for local communities paired with greater transparency for how those funds are spent is exactly what we need from Washington right now. Amendment #131 from Representative Davis and Titus is endorsed by countless local officials and Transportation for America, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Regional Councils, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and the National Association of Development Organizations.

I thank you for your consideration and respectfully ask for Rep. [NAME] and the Rules Committee to advance this amendment today to the House floor for consideration. Thanks for your time.”

House Rules Committee Members

Michael Burgess
TX-26
(202) 225-7772
Dan Newhouse
WA-4
(202) 225-5816
Bradley Byrne
AL-1
(202) 225-4931
Jared Polis
CO-2
(202) 225-2161
Tom Cole
OK-4
(202) 225-6165
Pete Sessions
TX-32
(202) 225-2231
Doug Collins
GA-9
(202) 225-9893
Louis Slaughter
NY-25
(202) 225-3615
Virginia Foxx
NC-5
(202) 225-2071
Steve Stivers
OH-15
(202) 225-2015
Alcee Hastings
FL-20
(202) 225-1313
Rob Woodall
GA-7
(202) 225-4272
James McGovern
MA-2
(202)-225-6101

This is our very last chance to get this smart proposal into upcoming negotiations between the House and Senate on a new multi-year transportation law, which will lock policy into place for at least three and as many as six years. We’ve got just a few hours until the House decides what amendments can be voted on, so send a message now.

And join us tomorrow at noon for a short call discussing what you need to know about the House bill.

Three changes could dramatically improve the Senate’s draft transportation bill

Ahead of the looming July 31 deadline to pass a new bill (or extend the current law), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in late June introduced and marked up a full six-year transportation bill. While we think it’s a good starting point, there are some promising amendments that could improve the bill dramatically as it goes forward in the Senate.

Mayors and other local elected leaders are the ones who face the music from citizens when bridges need repair, when mounting congestion makes commutes unpredictable, and when families can’t safely walk their kids to school — yet those same leaders are too often left out of the discussions over what gets built and where.

Giving local communities of all sizes the resources they need to realize their ambitious plans to stay economically competitive should be a primary goal of this bill, and several Senators have prepared several amendments to help change that.

Several of these were discussed or offered and withdrawn during the markup, and will hopefully be debated on the floor of the Senate.

First, Senators Wicker (R-MS) and Booker (D-NJ) are offering their Innovation in Surface Transportation Act as an amendment, to create a competitive grant program in each state to give local communities more access to federal funds — but only for the smartest, most innovative projects judged on their merits. A second amendment from Senators Booker and Wicker would increase the amount of flexible transportation dollars directly provided to local communities by ten percent of the program’s share.

Lastly, an amendment from Senator Cardin (D-MD) would increase funding for the program that cities, towns and regions use to invest in projects to make biking and walking safer — restoring the Transportation Alternatives Program to its previous funding level before being slashed in the last reauthorization in 2012.

Can you urge your Senators to support these amendments that will help give local communities like yours more access to and control over transportation dollars?

With a new competitive grant program for local projects in each state, more communities could find success like Normal, IL, found with its Uptown Station. Normal used a grant from the competitive national TIGER program to complete the funding picture for a multimodal station and central plaza that brought new life and economic activity to its town’s core. But the TIGER program is one of the only ways local communities can directly access federal funds, and it’s wildly oversubscribed.

Though the bill has cleared committee, it will still have to be considered in the full Senate, so we need all Senators to hear your support for these amendments. Don’t delay — send a message to your Senators and urge them to support these key amendments to improve this bill.

Logged-in members can read our full summary of the EPW bill below.

[member_content]Feature graphic - epw drive actJune 24, 2015 — The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) released its six-year MAP-21 reauthorization proposal on June 22, 2015. The DRIVE Act is a start, but needs much more work to reform — and reinvigorate — the federal transportation program in ways that will boost today’s economy and ensure future prosperity. This memo provides an overview of the key provisions included in the proposal, as well as funding levels for key programs.

Read the full members-only memo here.[/member_content]

Tell Congress to send real dollars where the real needs are

Applause rang out from both sides of the aisle during the State of the Union last week when President Obama called for the ambitious, “bipartisan infrastructure plan” we need for a 21st century, “middle-class economy”. It’s time to get real about how we raise that money, and more importantly, how we should invest it.

While the President noted that workers are getting a welcome break with lower gas prices, he declined to call for applying some of that savings to making sure those workers can get to their jobs. He again floated the idea of relying instead on a one-time windfall from corporate tax reform, and now some key GOP counterparts seem warm to the idea.

The problem is that no such deal is likely before the transportation program expires and money runs out in May. And even if it were, we need more than a one-shot infusion.

Beyond that, we need a federal transportation bill that actually gets resources to local communities that are struggling to repair and expand transit, roads and bridges so people can get to work and goods can get to market. They need the latitude to fix bottlenecks and potholes and to innovate for the future, in accord with their residents’ priorities.

Tell your representatives: Act now to produce a bipartisan, long-term transportation bill with real money. The time for trial balloons and what-ifs is over.

Please send your representative a message to:

  • Raise revenue to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund and spur economic growth. For the near term, increasing fuel fees that have lost a third of their value since the last increase in 1993 is the only sure bet.
  • Ensure funds are flexible enough to spend on all modes of transportation. Let communities invest in whatever way will bring the biggest bang for the buck.
  • Empower local communities with more control and resources. Local leaders are best able to identify the particular transportation investments to address their communities’ unique challenges.

Your member of Congress has a crucial opportunity to refocus the transportation program in ways that will boost local economies, maintain our existing infrastructure, and prepare for the future.

Send a letter asking your member of Congress to step up.

Tell the President to back a bipartisan gas tax increase

The steep drop in gas prices offers the best opportunity in years to raise the revenue we need to rescue our transportation trust fund and build for the future. And, for the first time in recent memory, leaders in both parties are calling for a gas tax increase to avoid foisting monumental repair and construction bills on the next generation.

Now is the time:  Congress and the President must seize the moment.

 President Obama is keenly aware of the needs. In just about every State of the Union address since he was elected, he has called for more robust investment to fix our aging network and build what we need to keep people, goods and our economy moving. But the President’s proposals to fund his vision have been short on specifics. And he has opposed raising the gas tax in a weak economy.

Today, though, times are better and gas prices sinking. This time, the President must use the Jan. 20 State of the Union address to say how he would pay for the investments he knows are needed.

 Tell President Obama to voice clear support for a bipartisan move to raise real revenue.

We know we can’t rely on the gas tax alone over the long term. Consumption is likely to drop with cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars – and people are driving less. We need to diversify our revenue sources, even as we broaden the kinds of projects we build.

But that transition will take years, and we have a huge backlog of needs from a long recession that took a toll on our ability to maintain and build our network. Our local communities cannot begin to afford to make up the gap on their own. It’s a nationwide problem that needs national support.

By May, Congress must adopt a new transportation bill and find the money to pay for it. To make the best use of those dollars, Congress must get more resources to local communities, and give them the latitude to do best by their economies and quality of life.

Now, while consumers will feel the impact the least, is the best time to act for a near-term fix. The President can either stifle the conversation from the outset, or add his voice to the growing chorus.

 Please encourage him to add his support, in the high-profile setting of the State of the Union Address.

Support the Senate’s bipartisan plan to raise the gas tax

A bipartisan pair of Senators says it's time to raise the gas tax. Let the rest of the Senate know if you agree. Take action.

A bipartisan pair of Senators says it’s time to raise the gas tax. Let the rest of the Senate know if you agree.
Take action.

After months of hearing from mayors and business leaders and citizens and people of all stripes who are worried about the looming bankruptcy of our transportation fund, a key Senate committee this week at last is taking up a temporary fix to the trust fund for the next six months. But Congress still must find a long-term solution to save our nation’s transportation fund. 

As we wrote about last week, two courageous senators have introduced a bipartisan – yes, bipartisan – proposal to save the trust fund for the long haul. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) proposed raising the gas tax 12 cents per gallon over two years. It would be the first increase since Bill Clinton was in office and gas cost around a buck a gallon.

Can you send a message to your Senators asking them to throw their support behind this proposal? (Supporters in CT and TN: You can send a message of support to your Senators as well.)

Without new money to save the highway trust fund from insolvency, federal contributions for important transportation projects in your community would stop as soon as August and could shut down completely for the next year.

Some in the Senate are still talking about settling for a temporary bailout, rather than face our crumbling transportation program head-on.

Over the last five years, Congress has scoured the couch cushions to find $50 billion from general revenues to plug holes in the transportation trust fund. Meanwhile, the need for investment is growing as our population grows and infrastructure ages. Not only has inflation eaten away a third of their value, but gas tax receipts also have dropped with gains in fuel efficiency and a decline in the miles driven per person.

Most members of Congress have been afraid even to mention the possibility of tax increases, but as Senator Corker said, “If it’s something worth having, then it’s something worth paying for.” We couldn’t agree more. As our recent post on support for gas tax increases at the state level shows, voters may be more accepting of higher transportation taxes than conventional wisdom suggests.

Senators Murphy and Corker deserve great credit for their leadership and courage to propose a real fix to the transportation funding crisis.

Let’s let the rest of the Senate know that safe roads and bridges, better transit, and speedier commutes are things worth paying for.

In the meantime, T4America will keep fighting for more reforms to the system to ensure that states are held accountable for their spending and that more money flows to the local level where it’s needed most. But without any new revenue, there’s no need for accountability: Projects and plans will sit on the shelf.

What do you think about raising the gas tax? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

Finally, a bill to give locals more access to their federal transportation dollars

Normal, Illinois' Uptown Station project represents what can happen when the local leaders behind an ambitious vision are able gain access to the resources needed to bring that vision to life.

Normal, Illinois’ Uptown Station project represents what can happen when the local leaders behind an ambitious vision are able gain access to the resources needed to bring that vision to life.

Most taxpayers would agree that the level of government closest to the people should have more control over how transportation dollars get spent in their local communities.  Yet local cities, towns and counties control less than 15 percent of all federal transportation dollars.  

If you think that needs to change, then stop what you’re doing and ask your representatives to cosponsor this critical, bipartisan bill. It would give local communities more access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in homegrown transportation plans and projects that they control.

(You can read more in-depth about Representative Davis’ bill on our blog here or check out the Congress.gov page for H.R. 4726 here.)

Local leaders are the ones who feel the heat when crumbling infrastructure stalls traffic, when workers can’t connect to jobs, streets are unsafe or goods get stuck in congestion. But they lack the access to federal funds that could help them fix those problems and boost their economies, and they have little say in how their state’s federal allocation gets spent.

We have a golden opportunity to change that. 

Thanks to the leadership of a bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators, this terrific proposal would set aside a small portion of each state’s federal allotment to create a grant program especially for local communities. The grants would be awarded on merit by a panel with representatives from state and local jurisdictions, ensuring that funds go to well-conceived projects with the most local support.

This program would make a tremendous impact by requiring that more transportation dollars flow to communities — a great way to make good on Congress’s promise of more local control in MAP-21, the current transportation law.

The grants could fund a wide variety of surface transportation projects — such as bridge repair or improvement, highway projects, freight movement, bike and pedestrian safety and transit, to name a few.

This bill represents one of the best opportunities we’ve had in some time to ensure that more transportation dollars get down to where they’re needed most, to be spent on the very best projects that communities need.

Please, send a letter to your representatives and urge them to support this important bill.

Did you already send your letters? Then help spread the word! Use the links to share on Twitter and Facebook below, OR, cut and paste the message in the box to send a message to your friends via email.

 Shouldn’t the level of government closest to the people have more control over how transportation dollars get spent in their local communities? And shouldn’t they have more access to federal transportation funds?

I think so, and I asked my representatives to cosponsor this bipartisan bill that would give local communities more access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in homegrown transportation plans and projects, and more control over how those dollars get spent.

Will you join me and send a letter? It only takes a moment.

http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18521

Which highly anticipated transportation projects in your community would go back on the shelf next year?

Which highly anticipated transportation projects in your community would go back on the shelf next year? Will it be a bridge replacement years in the making? New buses to meet growing ridership? A multi-use trail along a key highway that bike commuters are hoping to use? Improvements to make your Main Street safer and more pleasant for people who shop and work there?

Construction mosaic for fiscal cliff report

If Congress does nothing in the next few months, the nation’s transportation fund will be bankrupt before the end of the summer. The new report we published this morning chronicles the heavy financial toll that states and metro areas will face if federal transportation dollars for any new projects drop to zero starting this fall.

The bottom line if that happens? The feds will be unable to commit to funding any new projects, depriving states and localities of resources critical to maintaining and improving the infrastructure that makes our economy possible. That’s unacceptable. Will you join us and call on your representatives and senators?

Poof.

There goes a long awaited bridge replacement in downtown Boise, ID, to replace a narrow, deficient 1938 bridge with a modern structure that is safe for all modes of transportation; the order of 29 new buses for Columbus, Ohio’s transit agency; and the replacement for the nearly 80-year-old twin I-74 spans in the Quad Cities on the border between Iowa and Illinois — where one in five workers crosses the river each day for work.

The list goes on and includes hundreds if not thousands of new projects for next year that would be delayed without a fix for our country’s transportation fund.

Join us and call on your representatives and senators and tell them you support raising the revenues we need to fix the transportation trust fund and refocus our country’s transportation program on innovative, locally-driven transportation solutions.


Fiscal Cliff Promo Graphic

Download the Report

Visit the Report Home

Cuts restored, progress possible in critical budget deal

Maine's application for a TIGER grant to replace the aging Penobscot River bridge has a benefit-cost ratio of 8.7

Maine’s application for a TIGER grant to replace the aging Penobscot River bridge has a benefit-cost ratio of 8.7

Updated 1/17/2014 at bottom. Positive news from Congress today! Yes, you heard right. Just months after budget sequestration and a government shutdown put transportation funding at risk, House leaders have agreed to a budget deal that would provide stable or increased funding for key programs that you’ve helped us defend over the last few years.

House leaders deserve recognition for this positive step for transportation funding. And they need to know that they’re on the right track.

It’s not over yet, but this is an important victory for T4America and all of you who think smart investments in transportation are key to economic prosperity.

The House and Senate reached a tentative agreement back in December and this new “omnibus” comprehensive budget bill to keep government functioning was drafted along that outline by House and Senate appropriators.

Most encouraging is that it wasn’t that long ago when serious proposals were floated in Congress for across-the-board transportation cuts of one-third, significant cuts to funding for Amtrak and new transit construction, as well as zeroing out the innovative TIGER grant program.

This budget deal includes $600 million for another round of grants for the TIGER program — a level not seen since 2010 — as well as an increase in the New Starts program that communities need to meet the demand for transit service. Amtrak also received what they need to continue operating their booming services while investing for the future.

 

Get Involved

 Tell your House representative that you welcome this deal, thank them for their work to make it happen, and urge them to pass the measure when it comes to the floor.

SEND A MESSAGE 

 

That means that commuters throughout the nation can breathe a sigh of relief that their transit route is less likely to be cut, rail cars and buses could be upgraded, and essential new service can begin the process of being added. With cuts to highway programs reversed, they also can know that their bridges and roads are more likely to be repaired and replaced. Riders who depend on Amtrak can breathe easy knowing that most service cuts are likely history.

So what’s next? A vote in the House perhaps as early as tomorrow (Wednesday) and then a subsequent vote in the Senate by this weekend.

After this important deal is approved, we hope Congress will turn its attention toward preventing the oncoming insolvency of our key transportation trust fund. For inspiration, they can look to our alliance’s proposal to raise enough revenues not only to avoid calamity, but to provide our communities the resources and latitude they need to reach their economic potential.

Our nation’s economy is only as strong as our local economies, and those depend on a reliable, safe, well-maintained transportation network.

Updated 1/17/2014 With a 359-67 vote in the House and a 72-26 vote in the Senate, the full $1.1 trillion budget for FY 2014 was approved by Congress and sent to the President for his signature. Here’s our statement on the final vote.