Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about U.S. Senate

Senate Starts Climate Push With Nods to Jobs, Energy and Transportation

By Elana Schor | Jul 7, 2009 | No Comments

Total U.S. emissions in 2007. (Chart: FHWA) The Senate is taking its first public steps toward combating climate change — and while the U.S. DOT was absent from this morning’s hearing, the chiefs of the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency reminded lawmakers that transportation must play a key role in any emissions reduction plan. […]

Cities See Population Gains — But What About Political Power?

By Elana Schor | Jul 1, 2009 | 5 Comments

The Census Bureau has just released new data showing a resurgence of the nation’s cities, with New York leading the way and Chicago reversing five years of population decline. The number of New Yorkers grew by an estimated 53,000 this year. Will they get more power in Congress? (Photo: lukegeorgeson via flickr) The urban growth […]

Boxer and Inhofe Agree: Transportation Policy Reform Can Wait

By Elana Schor | Jun 25, 2009 | 5 Comments

Green transportation advocates are pressing Congress to refuse any new spending that’s not tied to reform of the existing system — a call that influential senators in both parties ruled out today. Photo: CNN Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK), the panel’s ranking GOPer, in endorsing […]

The High-Speed Rail Numbers Game: Is $13 Billion and 110 MPH Enough?

By Elana Schor | Jun 24, 2009 | 11 Comments

High-speed rail is one of the Obama administration’s most prized policy goals, with $13 billion getting earmarked in the coming year alone to help break ground on up to 11 proposed regional corridors. But what will the U.S. get for its money? A lively Senate hearing yesterday attempted to answer that question. Will all 11 […]

Senators Seek Rail Safety Funding in Aftermath of Metro Crash

By Elana Schor | Jun 23, 2009 | 2 Comments

Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology. The scene of yesterday’s D.C. Metro crash. Photo: NYT The letter was sent by two chairmen with a central role in transportation policy — […]

GOP’s New Attack on Health Care Reform Bill: It Promotes Walking!

By Elana Schor | Jun 16, 2009 | 12 Comments

Despite a growing awareness among conservatives that walking and biking are causes worth backing, Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to condemn bike-ped programs as wasteful "pork". The GOP’s latest potshots at sustainable transportation come during debate over a health care bill that focuses mainly on insurance and hospitals, but also includes a public health grant […]

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