Elana Schor
Recent Posts
The Missed Opportunity for an Urban Stimulus: Mayors “Were Ignored”
| | 2 Comments
Two-thirds of America’s population, and more than three-quarters of its economic productivity, come from major cities. So why did the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law end up giving metropolitan areas the short end of the stick? Daniel Malloy, mayor of Stamford, CT. Photo: Bridgeport City Council Harry Moroz of the Drum Major Institute attempts to […]
LaHood to Congress: It’s Time to Talk About a Gas Tax Increase
| | 8 Comments
As Congress maneuvers to end the political impasse over the next long-term national transportation bill, lawmakers are going to have to debate an increase in the federal gas tax, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (Photo: Getty Images) In his remarks at a Fort Worth transportation meeting, first reported by the […]
Think Roads Pay for Themselves? Think Again
| | 12 Comments
The myth that U.S. roads “pay for themselves” thanks to user fees is a subject that’s likely familiar to many Streetsblog readers — but just how much of the nation’s highway funding is provided by charging drivers? The answer may surprise even active critics of the current asphalt-centric transportation system. Between 1982 and 2007, the […]
Streetsblog Capitol Hill Q&A: Four Questions For Rob Puentes
| | No Comments
America’s transportation and infrastructure policies affect literally everyone who moves from place to place in the country, but often they are under-discussed and over-simplified by the mainstream media. To help broaden the debate, Streetsblog Capitol Hill is kicking off a new Q&A series called "The Four Questions." Robert Puentes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s […]
Bipartisan Support Builds for Six-Month Extension of Current Transpo Law
| | No Comments
The senior Republicans on three of the Senate’s four infrastructure-centric committees signed a bipartisan letter on Tuesday asking the leaders of Congress’ upper chamber to call up a six-month extension of the 2005 transportation law. Senate environment chairman Barbara Boxer. Photo: Politics Now In the letter, Sens. Jim Inhofe (OK), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), and […]
Feds Propose to Expand Opportunities for Biking and Walking to Transit
| | 3 Comments
When it comes to infrastructure improvements that encourage more people to walk or bicycle to transit stations, how long will commuters be willing to travel? The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has officially answered that question, proposing a significant expansion of the rules governing how close bike-ped projects should be to transit in order to receive […]
Report: Even After MN Bridge Collapse, Transpo Earmarks Shun Repair
| | No Comments
In the wake of the 2007 collapse of Minnesota’s I-35 bridge, Washington policymakers vowed a renewed focus on repairing the nation’s aging infrastructure. But weeks after the fatal collapse, Congress approved a transportation spending bill with 704 earmarked projects, at a total cost topping $570 million — and just 11 percent of those earmarks went […]
Boxer Okays Senate Climate Bill, Without Amendments or GOP
| | No Comments
The Senate environment committee approved its climate change bill today on a 10-1 vote, shrugging off a boycott by all of the panel’s Republicans but missing out on the chance to consider amendments to the lengthy legislation. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) (Photo: AP) The environment panel’s chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had offered Republicans several days […]
Congress Set to Double the Size of Sprawl-Centric Home Buyer’s Tax Credit
| | 11 Comments
Photo: US Department of Agriculture The $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers — which was wracked by fraudulent claims after its creation as part of the nation’s economic recovery effort — is on the verge of a significant expansion by Congress. Just how much will the tax credit mushroom thanks to the deal reached […]
Buffett’s Bet on Rail: What Does It Mean for Transport and Energy?
| | 14 Comments
The financial world was riveted this morning by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s move to take full ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, a $34 billion deal that ranks as the largest ever executed by Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett (Photo: Redfin) But what does Buffett’s purchase mean for the nation’s energy […]
Obama Calls For ‘More Creative’ Ways to Pay For Infrastructure
| | 9 Comments
At a meeting today with his outside economic recovery advisers, President Obama emphasized the importance of shoring up the nation’s crumbling infrastructure but warned that the mounting federal deficit would require "more creative, new approaches to financing" investment in transit, bridges, and road repairs. President Obama (Photo: AP) "I think my team will testify when […]
Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest
| | 5 Comments
Halfway through this afternoon’s rally in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally, walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its purpose. Once their curiosity was […]