Transportation Bills Passage Spares Counties
BILL’S PASSAGE SPARES COUNTIES – Two articles over the weekend in the Oregonian focus on a low profile aspect of the student loans/highways bill: $346 million for mostly rural counties in the west with a high percentage of federal forest land. The legislation extends the timber payments program for one year. [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Transportation Bills Passage Spares Counties
Biden For High Speel Rail Transportation
HIGH-SPEED RAIL FOR BIDEN: HSR backer Thomas Hart is co-hosting a fundraiser with VP and Amtrak-lover Joe Biden today in Chicago. Hart is VP of government affairs and general counsel for the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association. “The young Senator commuted home to Delaware from Washington by train every night. He [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Biden For High Speel Rail Transportation
Jimmy Miller, T & I Committee Legend Steps Down After 53 Years of Service
T&I LEGEND STEPPING DOWN: The engine of the House T&I Committee – the man who runs the infrastructure and logistics for the panel focused on those very same issues – is finally revving down after 53 years of federal service and 36 years on the Hill. Jimmy Miller, who can rattle [...]
Gas Tax Not Sustainable
A TAXING CONVERSATION: Lawmakers and transpo experts all agree the gas tax isn’t a sustainable, long-term way to fund transportation projects. But the other options aren’t much better – increasing the tax has widespread opposition, a vehicle miles traveled tax isn’t ready to roll out on a national scale and revenue [...]
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Natural Gas Automobiles?
(NATURALLY) GASSED UP: Motorists worried about the Earth and weary of high gasoline prices have another option: Cars that produce less pollution and cost the equivalent of around $2 a gallon to fuel. But the average driver will probably never buy one. Natural gas autos are largely a road not taken [...]
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Transportation Bill Still Hung Up In Process
TOP BRASS STILL NEGOTIATING: It’s official. After weeks of informing reporters on the zigs and zags of this, ahem, entertaining process, transportation is officially above Steve LaTourette’s pay grade. After the House again had to pull an extension from the floor Tuesday – this one a 60-day stopgap – negotiations [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Transportation Bill Still Hung Up In Process
Transportation Bill Delays!
HOUSE VOTES ON EXTENSION TODAY: Members will take up a 90-day transportation stopgap under suspension of the rules – two-thirds of the chamber must approve it. Republicans seem to acknowledge the vote might fail: They would need dozens of Democratic votes despite vocal opposition, and the Monday vote leaves time [...]
Politico – Transportation 3.21.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe BISHOP INTROS SENATE BILL IN HOUSE: Forget a short-term extension: Rep. Tim Bishop wants to bring up the Senate’s surface transportation bill in the House and was drumming up support Tuesday afternoon for doing just that. Bishop told MT he’s [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.21.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.20.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe EXTENSION TALK: House Republicans huddle today to regroup after the weeklong recess. While transportation won’t be the only thing talked about, the required policy and gas tax extension is on the agenda. Rep. Steve LaTourette laid out the three options [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.20.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.19.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe TALKING PAST EACH OTHER: The House has had a few days to mull its next step in the transportation tit-for-tat with the Senate, which passed its bill last week and is now pointing at Speaker Boehner as if [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.19.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.16.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe GIVING UP A TRANSPORT BILL FOR LENT: The House won’t take up a transportation bill until after the two-week Easter recess, transportation committee aides told a group of transportation officials yesterday. Members return April 16, the earliest a bill would [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.16.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.15.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe TAKING IT TO THE HOUSE: Though it’s been less than a day since the Senate passed its transportation bill, 74-22, us forward-thinking Washingtonians are now focused on the House. EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer was quite clear on what [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.15.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.14.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe BIG DAY IN THE SENATE: The upper chamber dispensed with more than a dozen amendments Tuesday, leaving just a pair of disaster-related offerings to deal withWednesday before the bill’s final passage. Asked for a preview of today’s action, Sen. Chuck Schumer [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.14.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.13.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett With an assist from Kathryn A. Wolfe BOXER PREDICTS PASSAGE: EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer is predicting a large Senate showing in favor of final passage of the transportation bill, perhaps over 70 votes, she said in a Monday conference call with stakeholders (and MT [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.13.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.12.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider NEED A HANDLE ON AMENDMENTS? We’re here to help: Now that the Senate has dispensed with many of the nongermane amendments to the chamber’s two-year, $109 billion transportation bill, we move onto offerings related to transportation. Nearly all of them need only a simple majority [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.12.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.8.2012
By Jess Kamen and Tony Romm With help from Kim Hart, David Saleh Rauf, Eliza Krigman and Jen Martinez COMCAST EXEC DEFENDS VERIZON-SPECTRUMCO DEAL - Eliza Krigman sits down with David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corp., who says the cable giant won’t become a wireless competitor, regardless of whether [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.8.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.8.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider VOTE-A-RAMA IN SENATE: Senators will vote today on up to 30 amendments to the transportation bill after reaching a deal late last night. The agreement came after days of intense closed-doors negotiations aimed at moving a bill that’s consumed a month of floor time despite having broad [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.8.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.7.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett GOP HUDDLES TODAY – Speaker to lay it out for members: House Speaker John Boehner is set to dump the mess of a highway bill in the lap of conservatives. In a closed-door meeting planned for this morning, top Republicans are going to deliver [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.7.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.6.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider DOOMED TO A CLOTURE VOTE: A noon cloture vote on the amendments to the Senate’s two-year transportation bill is set for today, subject to change at any time. But it doesn’t seem they’ll change: Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will meet [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.6.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.5.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett DOOMSDAY SCENARIO: What would it look like if Congress fails to extend transportation policy past March 31? Immediately, most of the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax would expire, potentially saving Americans at the pump as gasoline prices skyrocket but draining the already-shaky Highway Trust [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.5.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.2.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider THE LEAD: Thursday was a rough day for transportation optimism in Congress. House leadership pulled back from an a 18-month proposal that had barely been alive a week. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid again decorated his amendment tree to prevent more amends from [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.2.2012
Politico – Transportation 3.1.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett STANDING UP FOR THE CHAIRMAN: As House Republican leadership moves toward a new 18-month transportation bill, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica has gotten some blame for why an earlier five-year, $260 billion version fell apart. But committee Republicans are sticking up for their chairman [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 3.1.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.29.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider THE BLAME GAME: The House is charting a path forward for an 18-month transportation bill that will restore dedicated transit funding and come in slightly under the Senate’s $109 billion price tag, Rep. Steve LaTourette said yesterday. It’s yet another major change to what [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.29.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.28.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett MICA, LEADERSHIP HUDDLING ON HOUSE BILL: Transportation Committee head John Mica told reporters that “it would be a disappointment to have a shorter” version of the five-year transportation bill that came out of his committee. The chairman also said he is working with the [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.28.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.27.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider FOCUS PIVOTS TO SENATE: Congress descends back to Washington today, and the Senate awaits Harry Reid’s compromised Banking, Commerce and Finance titles (read the whole thing here: http://bit.ly/AwPNys), currently pending to the chamber’s two-year bill. A vote on it is not expected today, but [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.27.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.24.2012
By Burgess Everett BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: We had heard rumors that something was up but weren’t expecting this. Major news broke late Thursday when House leadership revealed it is considering a redo on its transportation bill. Speaker John Boehner’s signature proposal will likely see: a shorter length, (maybe) reduced overall funding [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.24.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.23.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett GOP DEBATE ROUNDUP – Earmark to nowhere: GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum got into it last night over earmarks, with the obligatory mention of the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” as an example of Washington spending gone awry. Replying to Santorum’s stated opposition [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.23.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.22.2012
By Burgess Everett and Adam Snider ESSENTIAL 2012 MOTOR CITY READING: Tonight is the last presidential debate before Super Tuesday and the candidates are jockeying hard for position ahead of next Tuesday’s primaries in Arizona and in Michigan. One thing to keep an eye on: Auto industry bailout talk. Turns [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.22.2012
Politico – Transportation 2.21.2012
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett TAKING DOWN THE TREE: Before leaving Friday, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid attached a new amendment (http://bit.ly/AwPNys) to the Senate’s two-year transportation bill that included changes to the Commerce Committee title, with tweaks negotiated by committee leaders Jay Rockefeller and Kay Bailey Hutchison that took out [...]
Categories: Transportation Tags: Politico - Transportation 2.21.2012
