Posts Tagged "senate"
Greater federal investment in infrastructure welcomed, but must be paired with increases in accountability and transparency
After the release of the Senate Democrats’ $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, Beth Osborne, Senior Policy Advisor for Transportation for America, released this statement:
A large congressional delegation asks USDOT to improve the proposed congestion rule
Earlier this week, a large group of senators and representatives sent a letter to USDOT Secretary Foxx, requesting that USDOT change a flawed proposed rule for measuring congestion. They asked that USDOT assess the movement of people, rather than vehicles, as a better measure of congestion and reward the improvements that can come from transit, toll lanes, or encouraging travelers to choose other options like walking or biking.
Senate transportation appropriations bill adheres to local leaders’ call to fund TIGER, public transit and passenger rail
The annual transportation and housing appropriations bill – known as T-HUD – was approved last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee and contains good news for transportation.
Carrying the message of Gulf Coast support for passenger rail up to Capitol Hill
After last week’s inspiring rail trip along the Gulf Coast where we witnessed firsthand the massive support from citizens and local leaders alike for restoring passenger rail service along the coast, a member of the Southern Rail Commission testified before the Senate’s key rail committee earlier this week to deliver the same message Gulf Coast citizens so passionately presented at each stop last week.
Though Congress passed a transportation bill, funding for key programs still up in the air
Though Congress passed a five-year transportation bill back in December, the fate of many important transportation programs will still be decided in Congress’ appropriations process this year. Among them is one of the few ways that local communities can directly receive funding for smart projects.
Help make TIGER roar in this year’s budget
Though 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.
Think FAST – the good, the bad and the ugly in Congress’ new five-year transportation bill
For the first time in a decade, Congress is on the cusp of passing a five-year transportation authorization bill that will carry us into the next decade. Though we await final floor votes and the President’s signature, it will almost certainly be approved in a matter of days. So how does the bill stack up against the pressing needs of our country? Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of the FAST Act.
House and Senate conference members reach agreement on five-year transportation authorization
Conferees from the House and Senate have reached agreement on a final transportation reauthorization that will tap Federal Reserve surplus funds and other accounting maneuvers to cover the bill’s full cost over five years.
Senate pivoting to yearly spending bill that increases TIGER but still cuts transit funds
While a few Senate members are focused on the conference committee deliberations on a new long-term transportation bill, the Senate committee that doles out transportation money each year has released their proposal for next year, and the news is mixed for several important transportation programs.
The Senate’s multi-year transportation bill misses the mark on multimodal freight
Below is an in-depth explanation of one of the 10 things you need to know about the Senate’s DRIVE Act. The Senate’s multi-year transportation bill recognizes that efficient freight movement is important, but the bill prioritizes freight moving on highways over that moving by rail, air, ports and pipelines. The DRIVE Act (HR 22) is unique from […]
A proposal in the U.S. House could send more transportation funding to local communities
Last week, the Senate passed their multi-year transportation bill, the DRIVE Act, which authorizes funding for six years but with only enough funding for the first three years. The House left for August recess before taking up the Senate’s long-term bill, so Congress passed a three-month extension of MAP-21 that extends the program until the […]
10 things you need to know about the Senate’s DRIVE Act
Though the Senate finally moved beyond repeated short-term extensions to the nation’s transportation program with a multi-year bill, their DRIVE Act is also major missed opportunity to give cities, towns and local communities of all sizes more control over and access to federal transportation dollars. Here are nine other things that you need to know about the Senate’s bill.
Senate’s DRIVE Act Bypasses America’s Cities and Towns
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, DC — Following the Senate’s successful vote to approve the DRIVE Act, a six-year transportation reauthorization bill with three years of funding, the Honorable John Robert Smith, former mayor of Meridian, MS, and the Chairman of Transportation for America, issued the following statement: “While the Senate is to be commended for […]
Amendment to provide stable funding for TIGER program has a long list of Senate co-sponsors
In the week before tomorrow’s final vote on the Senate’s three-year transportation bill, Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) amendment to enshrine the TIGER program’s funding into law picked up at least 27 co-sponsors. The TIGER program represents one of the few ways local communities can directly access federal funds for their local priority projects.
Senate on the verge of passing a multi-year transportation bill
After several contentious procedural votes to keep the bill moving forward over the past week, the Senate is likely to be taking a final vote on their three-year transportation bill at some point before the end of the week. Here’s a short update on where things currently stand.
Support the new plan from a bipartisan duo of senators to send more transportation dollars to local communities
Two Senators championing the cause of giving local communities more control over their transportation dollars have introduced a modified plan to steer more federal transportation dollars directly to local communities of all sizes — reaching a compromise that they want to incorporate into the Senate’s transportation bill as it heads to the floor.
UPDATED: Senate reaches preliminary agreement on a long-term transportation bill
A group of key Senate leaders announced just a few moments ago that they’d reached agreement on a bipartisan six-year transportation bill with three years of guaranteed funding. While it’s encouraging to see this agreement ten days before MAP-21 expires on July 31, forthcoming negotiations over the actual details of the bill will be crucial as most Senators have not yet seen the policy or funding language.
Over 150 elected officials, DOTs, MPOs, chambers of commerce and others voice strong support for restoring TIGER program
With the the Senate Commerce Committee due to mark up their portion of a long-term transportation bill that will eliminate the competitive TIGER grant program and refocus its funds on a multimodal freight program, more than 150 organizations and elected officials signed a letter urging the committee to restore and authorize the TIGER program.
What we’re watching: Senate Commerce Committee to mark up six-year transportation bill today
Later today (Wednesday) the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is scheduled to mark up the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (S. 1732), a proposed six-year transportation reauthorization. As we’ve mentioned here before, the federal transportation bill has huge implications for development across the country. Here’s what we’ll be looking for during today’s proceedings.
Join us on Thursday for an inside look at transportation reauthorization in Congress
The current federal transportation bill will expire on July 31, 2015, with the nation’s transportation fund reaching insolvency near the same time. Join us Thursday for a public conversation about what’s likely to happen in Washington and what it all means for your community.
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