Federal Transportation Issues

Blog on Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:26:00 +0000

I'm in the process of leaving WSDOT, so the blog will be on hiatus for awhile. Please contact Willy Leiste at LeisteW@wsdot.wa.gov if you have questions.

I've had a blast providing you with short, plain-English stories about federal transportation policy and funding, answering your questions, and helping you navigate the mysteries of the federal government. I will continue to be involved in transportation issues, and writing about it.

Thank you for your feedback which was always positive and encouraging. Contact me at Larry.ehl@frontier.com if you'd like to stay in touch.

Monday Update: Federal Transportation News

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Congress is in recess this week, with most members meeting with constituents across their district or state. Legislative activity resumes on March 28.

Appropriations: Last week Congress passed a bill extending FY 2011 funding through April 8^th. It included spending reductions of about $6B. No transportation cuts were included this time. Most of the reductions are the last of the “low hanging fruit” that both chambers, both parties, and the White House could agree on.

Reaching agreement on the final FY 2011 will be much more difficult. The Senate and House are deeply divided about the next round of spending reductions; at the same time, more and more members oppose any further short term bills. Leadership in both chambers and in both parties opposed a government shutdown, but that’s still a possibility.

The spending cuts in the current 2011 funding bill are focused in agriculture, commerce, justice, state and interior programs.

SAFETEA-LU is extended through September 30th, 2011.

Other news:

Senators introduce The Build Act to create an infrastructure bank to fund transportation, water, energy and communications projects. The WA Post covers it, and the NYT editorializes in favor.

AASHTO offered five recommendations to USDOT for streamlining project delivery. USDOT held the meeting in response to an executive order requiring federal agencies to ensure regulations protect the nation's safety, public health, and environment while promoting economic growth. It also orders a review of existing rules to remove outdated or ineffective regulations that stifle job creation and make America's economy less competitive.

The House Transportation Committee approved its Fiscal Year 2012 budget views and estimates which recommends funding reductions and increased efficiencies for many programs. The 30-page document does not provide recommended funding levels, but does provide a number of policy objectives.

An example: "The Committee is supportive of eliminating surface transportation programs that are no longer in the Federal interest and consolidating programs that overlap or are duplicative. ..." (p. 17)” is perceived by some as an attempt to restructure or end the Enhancements program. Bike/ped projects might – might – continue, but transportation museums and beautification projects will almost certainly not be funded if the majority has its way. "Views and Estimates of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for Fiscal Year 2012," is available at bit.ly/HTIC-VE12.

The Aviation authorization will probably be extended once more, through the end of May.

Why The Senate Can't Pass a 2011 Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:54:00 +0000

This comment from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin probably explains it best: "[B]oth our options are extremely partisan and unrealistic. And neither one will pass. The first is a Democratic proposal that doesn't go nearly far enough. This proposal, which calls for $6.5 billion in new cuts, utterly ignores our fiscal reality ... Or, we could choose a second, even more flawed measure: a GOP proposal that blindly hacks the budget with no sense of our priorities or of our values as a country."

"Freshman Democrat Joe Manchin: Obama has 'failed to lead' on budget," Politico

Monday Update: Federal Transportation News

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:09:00 +0000

Last week the President signed into law a bill (H.R. 662) to extend SAFETEA-LU through September 30, 2011. The House vote was 421-4, and the Senate passed the bill by a voice vote.

The President also signed into law a bill (HJR.44, PL 112-4) that continues funding for federal agencies through March 18. Congress enacted this two-week funding bill to provide more time to negotiate the wide differences between the Senate and House bills. The bill cuts nearly $1 billion in transportation programs and earmarks.

The House continues to press for a bill that would cut FFY 2011 spending by $61 billion. The Senate has revised its bill to reduce spending by $10.5 billion. The Senate will take a couple of test votes this week, which will show there's insufficient support for either of the current proposals.

Negotiations will continue, but it's very possible another short-term spending bill will be needed. If no compromise is then reached, both sides may be willing to suffer through a government shut down to help determine once and for all what the public will support.

Transportation hearings scheduled for this week:

Tuesday
House Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment: the President's FFY 2012 budget request for federal water infrastructure programs, 11am (Pacific).

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation, full committee hearing: USDOT's FFY 2012 budget request, 11:30am (Pacific).

Wednesday
House Appropriations, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development: FFY 2012 Army Corps of Engineers civil works budget request, 11am (Pacific)

Senate Environment and Public Works, full committee hearing: USDOT's FY 2012 budget request for the Federal Highway Administration, 11:15am (Pacific).

Thursday
Senate Appropriations, Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing: USDOT's FFY 2012 budget request, 6:30am (Pacific)

Friday
House Transportation and Infrastructure -- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials: increasing private sector participation in passenger rail service, 7am (Pacific).

Rewind: Last Week's Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Will USDOT Shut Down This Friday?

WSDOT, USDOT Finalize $590 Million For Passenger Rail

Budget Map Compares Transportation Spending To Rest Of Budget

Columbian's Coverage of Mica Session

Twitter Coverage of House Transport Listening Session

Federal Officials Will Hear Suggestions for SAFETEA-LU Reauthorization, and National Export Initiative

House Transportation Committee Sponsors Native American Roundtable

Conference: National Safe Routes To Schools

Patty Murray Statement on Securing $590 Million for Passenger Rail Service

Lahood Statement on Investing $590 Million In WA Passenger Rail Service

Monday Update: Federal Transportation News

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:14:00 +0000

The Senate and House return to DC after a week-long recess for an in-district/state work period.

One issue will dominate the week, a proposal to continue 2011 spending for two weeks and avoid a government shutdown. The situation is very fluid, but at this point it appears the House and Senate have agreed on a two-week continuation of 2011 funding that will avoid a government shutdown. the harder negotiation will be determining the spending level for the remainder of the fiscal year. See Will USDOT Shut Down This Friday? for more details.

One other issue this week is of high interest to transportation stakeholders: a likely vote to extend SAFETEA-LU through September 30th, 2011. The bill would continue current funding levels, and includes no policy changes. The current extension of SAFETEA-LU expires at midnight this Friday (March 4).

Congressional transportation committee leaders continue to gather input and draft a multi-year authorization bill. Meanwhile, the President released a broad and general proposal for a six-year $551 billion plan to replace SAFETEA-LU. The proposal does not include a funding mechanism, and it is unclear if and when more details might be released. The President’s plan is focused on “fix-it-first” instead of adding capacity, and would consolidate over 55 highway programs into five programs and merge five transit programs into two programs to expedite project planning and delivery. The House Transportation Committee held field hearings and listening sessions across the country last week, including Vancouver.

The House’s proposed 2011 spending bill contains a number of cuts to transportation programs. Most of the spending reductions come from eliminating 2010 funding for passenger rail, TIGER, and transit New Starts programs that has not been contractually obligated, and eliminating proposed 2011 funding for those programs. Proposed 2011 transportation earmarks were also eliminated, including approximately $221 million designated for 57 projects in WA State.

Status Reports on legislation:

Authorization, SAFETEA-LU
T-LU is extended through March 4 2011, per language in the continuing resolution. This week Congress should pass a bill extending SAFETEA-LU through September 30, 2011. Congress will continue to work on a multi-year bill, but most observers think it's unlikely a bill will pass until after the Presidential election. Both the House and Senate have started conducting hearings on a new authorization bill. Related stories: Will Earmark Ban Apply to the Transportation Authorization Bill? and House Field Hearings Will Seek Input On Next Transportation Bill

The House GOP adopted a new legislative rule that will allow the House to allocate less transportation funding than is authorized by SAFETEA-LU. The Senate is not likely to follow suit, setting up a contentious negotiation on the FY 2012 appropriations bills later this year. Read about the potential impact on WA state.

Appropriations
USDOT and federal agencies are funded through March 4. House Republicans have redrafted the House's FFY spending bills, and propose to reduce FY 2011 transportation spending by $11.5 billion. The bill will not include earmarks, with the Senate now following the lead of the House and President Obama.

See these stories for details:
No Earmarks for Two Years, What Happens Next with Earmark Funds?, Omnibus is Dead and What Transportation Lost When the Omnibus Died. The Omnibus bill designated about $221 million to 57 projects in WA state. (The dollar amount was reduced from the earlier Senate draft bill.)

Aviation Authorization:
The Senate and House each passed authorization bills in mid-February. The FAA authorization is currently extended through March 31st, 2011, the 17th extension since the authorization bill expired at the end of fiscal 2007. Another short term extension may be required

Climate Change
Bipartisan legislation to delay EPA's looming regulations of green house gas emissions died last December. Senator Boxer announced she will continue to work to protect EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller said he would reintroduce legislation to suspend the EPA's authority, and several bills to delay or strip funding for EPA's greenhouse gas rules have been introduced in the House.

Will USDOT Shut Down This Friday?

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:22:00 +0000

Probably not. It appears House Republicans and Senate Democrats are mostly agreed on details of a two-week spending bill for FY 2011 , avoiding a government shutdown. This buys more time for negotiating the final 2011 spending bill - a negotiation that will be much more difficult. The "easy" cuts will be in the two-week bill.

The House proposal reduces spending by about $60 billion compared to 2010, and by about $100 billion compared to the President’s proposal. Senate Democrats oppose such steep cuts, and will propose a bill that reduces spending more moderately. The differences are significant, both sides are dug in, and many Members are predicting negotiations will break down. That would result in federal agencies and programs shutting down until a final spending bill is approved.

The situation is very fluid, but we should know by Wednesday afternoon if the two-week spending bill is going to pass or get hung up.

A report to be issued Monday by Moody Analytics frames the challenge facing Congress. The House proposal would cut an estimated 700,000 jobs through 2012. But the report also notes that reducing deficits down to sustainable levels will require cutting about $400 billion a year through the rest of this decade, even when assuming an economy recovery.

Lahood Statement on Investing $590 Million In WA Passenger Rail Service

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:05:00 +0000

From the USDOT news release:

“President Obama's historic investments in a national high-speed rail network will enable America to win the future by creating construction and manufacturing jobs today and laying the foundation for future economic growth. By building safe, reliable and energy-efficient passenger rail corridors we will be able to help small businesses thrive and move people and goods more quickly than ever before. I am thrilled to congratulate the State of Washington, BNSF, and Amtrak for their contributions to the agreement signed today by the Federal Railroad Administration and Washington DOT that will make $590 million available for work to begin on significant improvements to the popular Cascades corridor, which connects Eugene, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and flexibility of all parties involved in the negotiations, this agreement will immediately put Washingtonians to work in good paying jobs, significantly improve rail service for commuters and travelers, and preserve the world-class freight rail system America has today.”

Additional background on the agreement:

‪As part of the President’s long-term vision to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail in the next 25 years, this initial $590 million in funding for high-speed and intercity passenger rail will create more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Washington region. And thanks to the performance standards included in this agreement, travelers will benefit from two additional daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland, a 10 minute reduction in travel time, and reliability improvements of up to 88%. With the signing of this agreement, 5 of the 6 high-speed rail corridors that require coordination with freight railroads now have a signed agreement in place. The Department of Transportation will build on this momentum to realize President Obama’s vision of a national high-speed rail system that will allow American workers to out-build, out-innovate, and out-compete the rest of the world.

Patty Murray Statement on Securing $590 Million for Passenger Rail Service

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:04:00 +0000

Senator Patty Murray's full statement:

"Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee, announced that a final agreement to invest $590 million in much needed rail improvements in Washington state had been reached between the federal government, Washington state, and BNSF railways. With this agreement, the job-creating rail projects which Senator Murray supported as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will soon begin along crucial sections of the Cascade rail line that runs from Blaine to Portland.

“At a time when good paying construction jobs are not easy to find, this is welcome news for our state,” said Senator Murray. “This agreement means that we can now get moving on a number of job-creating projects that will get freight and Amtrak trains moving more quickly along the I-5 corridor. And as all of us who have sat in traffic on I-5 know, we need to find better ways to move commuters and goods throughout our state. While this agreement may have been a long time in the making for many of us, the fact is it’s here and it’s time to get workers on the job.”

The agreement, which was signed late last night, is between the Federal Rail Administration (FRA), the Washington State Department of Transportation, and BNSF Railways which operates much of the track along the Cascade corridor. The agreement means that the $590 million in federal funding will now be obligated to the state of Washington to be allocated for several different projects along the rail line.

Recent statistics show that only two-thirds of passenger trains run on time on the 3 ½-hour trip between Seattle and Portland. The state of Washington has estimated that the investments would help eliminate 833 hours of delays annually, according to the state.

The funding obligated today does not include $161 million in rail funding redistributed to Washington in October 2010.

WSDOT, USDOT Finalize $590 Million For Passenger Rail

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:26:00 +0000

WSDOT, Amtrak, BNSF and FRA have signed an agreement to begin spending a $590 million federal high speed rail grant.

The projects funded will result in:

Two additional daily Amtrak Cascades round trips will be added between Seattle and Portland, for a total six, by 2017
On-time reliability is expected to increase from 62 to 88 percent
More consistent speeds will be possible throughout the corridor, resulting in faster travel times between Seattle and Portland
Major construction projects will be completed that will include building bypass tracks to allow for increased train frequency and multiple upgrades to existing track
Several safety-related projects will be completed, including grade separations and the latest technology in advanced-warning signal systems. This will reduce passenger/freight congestion, making passenger travel times shorter with more reliable on-time service.

Reaching the agreement will contractually obligate the $590 million and should prevent the House from rescinding the funding.

Ridership continues to grow on Amtrak Cascades, with a 10 percent increase between 2009 and 2010. Since Amtrak Cascades service began in 1994, annual ridership has increased from 100,000 to 840,000 last year.

WSDOT Secretary Paula Hammond statement:

“Signing this agreement now means work can begin during this year’s construction season,” said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, noting that the ARRA funds will create more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Pacific Northwest. “Ultimately, the goal is to boost the rail-line capacity and relieve mainline congestion, allowing Amtrak Cascades to offer more frequent and reliable passenger rail service between Portland and Seattle.”

Governor Chris Gregoire statement:

“This is another great development for our state in that this rail work will generate thousands of highly skilled construction and operating jobs and result in important improvements in rail passenger service.”

Senator Patty Murray statement:

“At a time when good paying construction jobs are not easy to find, this is welcome news for our state,” said Senator Murray. “This agreement means that we can now get moving on a number of job-creating projects that will get freight and Amtrak trains moving more quickly along the I-5 corridor. And as all of us who have sat in traffic on I-5 know, we need to find better ways to move commuters and goods throughout our state. While this agreement may have been a long time in the making for many of us, the fact is it’s here and it’s time to get workers on the job.”

Rep. Rick Larsen statement:

"This agreement will allow Washington state to begin investing in our high-speed rail system, which will grow the economy by providing good local jobs and helping commerce and passengers travel more efficiently throughout the region," said Rep. Larsen. "I congratulate WSDOT, BNSF and Amtrak for their hard work in completing the stakeholder agreement, which will allow federal grant dollars to immediately go to work creating jobs in our local communities."

USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood statement:

"Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and flexibility of all parties involved in the negotiations, this agreement will immediately put Washingtonians to work in good paying jobs, significantly improve rail service for commuters and travelers, and preserve the world-class freight rail system America has today.”

Look here for additional information on Washington state’s vision for these rail investments.

House Transportation Committee Sponsors Native American Roundtable

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Representative Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, today announced he is inviting tribal leaders to a Native American Transportation, Infrastructure, and Economic Development Roundtable.

The Roundtable will be held on Wednesday, March 2. The purpose of the Roundtable is to hear about native issues within the Committee’s jurisdiction. An agenda will be provided later.

Federal Officials Will Hear Suggestions for SAFETEA-LU Reauthorization, and National Export Initiative

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:15:00 +0000

Officials from the US Departments of Commerce and Transportation will in Seattle Friday to seek suggestions for the National Export Initiative and SAFETEA-LU reauthorization.

The ports of Tacoma, Seattle and Portland are hosting a roundtable discussion on February 25th to provide feedback to the federal agencies on ways to improve the supply chain in the Pacific Northwest in order to improve our regional and national economies.

This is a unique opportunity to hear from some of our major industries, as well as individuals, about the challenges we face, and possible solutions on the federal level.

PNW Supply Chain Mtg

Conference: National Safe Routes To Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:54:00 +0000

Registration and call for presentations are now open for the 3rd Safe Routes to School National Conference August 16 - 18, 2011, in Minneapolis.

Budget Map Compares Transportation Spending To Rest Of Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:22:00 +0000

This visualization map of the President's proposed 2012 budget shows how small the transportation spending is compared to the rest of government spending. (It's in the lower right quadrant.) Then remember what a small slice of the transportation spending goes to earmarks, and you realized that banning earmarks will have essentially no impact on the budget or reducing the debt. Finally, the map shows where the heavy lifting has to occur in order to reduce federal spending.

"A Budget Map Reveals a Troubled Future", New York Times

Columbian's Coverage of Mica Session

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:35:00 +0000

The Columbian's Marissa Harshman and Stephanie Rice blogged live from the House listening session Monday morning: LIVE BLOG: Congressional transportation hearing

Articles:
Bridge partisans told to focus on nation’s transportation woes

Madore, other CRC project foes make little headway

Twitter Coverage of House Transport Listening Session

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:31:00 +0000

I had to resort to live tweeting from my phone, as I didn't have a wireless connection to blog live.

Here are my tweets, starting with the beginning of the meeting.

Live tweeting House Transport listening session from Vancouver

Room at capacity, 125 people, SRO, at least that many waiting outside & can't get in

Reps Mica, DeFazio (OR), Shuster (PA) & home district Rep Herrera Beutler at listening session

Mica: for those who couldn't get in or may not get to speak, you have 2 weeks to submit comments for record

Herrera Beutler: CRC is most important project, "we gotta get it right". "there are a lot of questions left to answer"

DeFazio: we are not investing enough to maintain current system, much less building system to compete in 21st century.

DeFazio: transportation projects have more private than public sector jobs

Shuster: gotta figure out how to do more with less. CRC good example - how do we bring cost down.

DeFazio - 150,000 bridges on fed system needing serious repair now. Need to invest

Funny. Mica to Hammond: "Put down your statement and tell us what you want to see in the new bill"

Mike Ennis of conservative think tank: Citing MN bridge rebuilt in 437 days as blueprint for feds doing more with less

Mica not interested in anecdotes about WA system. Wants specific examples of leg provisions to modify or eliminate

Mica: Feds need to spend the $35B in RRIF acct and $6B in HMTF instead of raising gas tax.

Hammond: WSDOT is "more strategic with less" instead of "do more with less"

Capell: continue or increase fed funds to MPOs and locals. Critical to matching local funds for projects.

Hammond: better operations, technology, tolling & transit key to getting more from existing system.

AGC rep: streamline permit process. Delegate more authority to states to manage/comply with fed rules

AGC: force FHWA to rule more quickly on contract disputes. WSDOT: yes, process can be onerous. [Note: Hammond added collaboration with FHWA -WA is pretty good but she hears from other DOTs that process is more broken there]

AGC: Feds should use more best practices in rule/law compliance instead of being totally outcome oriented.

CRC opponent: many other large projects around country built for less than CRC estimate. e.g., Hoover Bypass

Mica to CRC critic: so what's your finance plan? What is fed role since states design project?

CRC critic: Feds should require local vote. Don't talk to state/local "bureaucrats". Audience groans loudly.

CRC critic basically implies project supporters influenced by "outside" financial interests. Even louder groans from audience.

WSDOT CRC manager: when multiple fed agencies involved, do simultaneous not serial reviews. The latter=huge delay

OR Iron Works: we just did 1st streetcar built in US in 58 years. Got more orders now. Keep Build America, it works.

Ennis: use more PPPs, more design build. Look at revising prevailing wage. WA should be more aggressive on PPP.

DeFazio: PPPs good in some cases but not all. And they always include tolls so private Corp. can make profit.

DeFazio: PPPs are not the magical solution. WA state likes PPPs more than me.

Shuster: CRC seems very expensive, sort of [implies] too expensive. Some applause from crowd.

DeFazio: leading int'l company looked at PPP for CRC: Not interested unless could toll I-205, which locals oppose.

Shuster: i feel your pain on project cost increases due to enviro regs. PA has lots of waterways.

Now using lottery to pick audience members to [ask questions].

There was Some talk of xtra costs due to stringent stormwater rules.

OR iron works: Why do streetcars in existing road need enviro impact study? Delays project DeFazio seemed to agree.

Monday Update: Federal Transportation News

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:15:00 +0000

The Senate and House are in recess for an in-district/state work period. Most members will be home meeting with constituents, holding town halls and other meetings. The House Transportation Committee holds field hearings and listening sessions across the country this week, beginning today in Vancouver.

A lot happened in federal transportation last week:

The House Transportation proposes to extend SAFETEA-LU through September 30, 2011.

The full House passed a bill funding federal agencies for the rest of FY 2011. Many people are speculating that House-Senate negotiations will drag out and cause a temporary shutdown of federal agencies.

The President proposed a FY 2012 that would significantly reorganize transportation programs.

Florida rejected $2.4 billion in federal passenger rail grant funds. Gov. Gregoire announced WA state is ready to accept some of that funding for WA state's ready-to-go projects.

Status Reports on legislation:

Authorization, SAFETEA-LU
T-LU is extended through March 4 2011, per language in the continuing resolution. It's likely that another short term extension will be enacted. Most observers think it's unlikely a multi-year bill will pass until after the Presidential election. Both the House and Senate have started conducting hearings on a new authorization bill. Related stories: Will Earmark Ban Apply to the Transportation Authorization Bill? and House Field Hearings Will Seek Input On Next Transportation Bill

The House GOP adopted a new legislative rule that will allow the House to allocate less transportation funding than is authorized by SAFETEA-LU. The Senate is not likely to follow suit, setting up a contentious negotiation on the FY 2012 appropriations bills later this year. Read about the potential impact on WA state.

Appropriations
USDOT and federal agencies are funded through March 4 2011. House Republicans have redrafted the House's FFY spending bills, and proposes to reduce FY 2011 transportation spending by $11.5 billion. The bill will not include earmarks, with the Senate now following the lead of the House and President Obama.

See these stories for details:
No Earmarks for Two Years, What Happens Next with Earmark Funds?, Omnibus is Dead and What Transportation Lost When the Omnibus Died. The Omnibus bill designated about $221 million to 57 projects in WA state. (The dollar amount was reduced from the earlier Senate draft bill.)

Aviation Authorization:
The Senate and House each passed authorization bills in mid-February. The FAA authorization is currently extended through March 31st, 2011, the 17th extension since the authorization bill expired at the end of fiscal 2007.

Climate Change
Bipartisan legislation to delay EPA's looming regulations of green house gas emissions died in December. Senator Boxer announced she will continue to work to protect EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller said he would reintroduce legislation to suspend the EPA's authority, and several bills to delay or strip funding for EPA's greenhouse gas rules have been introduced in the House.

USDOT May Shut Down Temporarily on March 5

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Odds are increasing that there could be a short-term shut down of federal agencies coming on March 5. This is due to a growing stalemate between Republicans and Democrats on resolving differences in FY 2011 spending. The current, temporary 2011 spending bill expires on March 4th.

The House passed a bill early Saturday morning that would reduce FY 2011 spending by $61 billion. Senate Democrats opposed cutting that deeply, and the President has threatened to veto the bill. The sides are so far apart that many people are beginning to speculate that negotiations will drag out, resulting in a (likely short-term) government shutdown.

Politico reports that a “high-ranking aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told Democratic chiefs of staff that a government shutdown is more likely than not, according to attendees. ” Pelosi has introduced a bill extending funding at current levels through March 31; however Republicans have stated that such a bill would have to include funding cuts.

Congress resumes legislative activity on February 28th.

Rewind: Last Week's Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:34:00 +0000

Extension of SAFETEA-LU Passes House Committee

USDOT May Shut Down Temporarily on March 5

House Transportation Field Hearing 1: A Recap

Administration Proposes Historic Reorganization and Funding of Federal Transportation

Members in Both Parties Have Reservations About Obama's FY 2012 Budget

LaHood: "Budget Invests $129 Billion in Restoring America’s Economic Competitiveness"

The FY 2012 Budget: "Two Drivers Playing Chicken"

Who from the NW Is On Senate's Transportation Subcommittee ?

House Rejects Cuts to Amtrak Funding

Gov Gregoire: WA State is Ready To Use Florida's Returned Rail Funding

Rep. Rick Larsen to Sec. Ray LaHood: We'll Take Some Of That $2.4 billion, Please

Federal Transit Director: Columbia River Crossing is a “critically needed” project

Webinar: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation

House Transportation Committee Sponsors Native American Roundtable

The President Giveth, the President Taketh

Using Transportation Policy to Reduce Oil Use & Emissions

New Primer on Surface Transportation Authorization & Highway Trust Fund

Another Sign Mica Is Somewhat Supportive of High Speed Rail

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:55:00 +0000

House Transportation Chair is sometimes portrayed as opposing high speed passenger rail. Yet yesterday he expressed disappointment at Wednesday's decision by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to cancel a major high-speed passenger rail program backed by $2.4 billion in federal grants.

The Journal of Commerce reports Mica's statement:

"I am deeply disappointed in the decision to not move forward with the Orlando to Tampa passenger rail project," Mica said in a statement supplied by his spokesman. "This is a huge setback for the state of Florida, our transportation, economic development and important tourism industry."

"Mica 'Deeply Disappointed' at Fla. Ending Rail Project," Journal of Commerce

Related stories:

Mica Supports High Speed Rail in Florida, But. . .

Gov Gregoire: WA State is Ready To Use Florida's Returned Rail Funding

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Within hours of Florida's announcement it would return $2.4 billion in federal passenger rail grant funds, Governor Gregoire let USDOT know that Washington state can use the funds immediately on projects which are ready-to-go.

From the release:

"Federal high-speed-rail stimulus funds rejected by Florida could be well spent in Washington on the vital Amtrak Cascades corridor stretching from Oregon to British Columbia, Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said today.

The governor of Florida today announced his state’s rejection of $2.4 billion in high-speed-rail stimulus funding.

“I’ve said many times, if other states don’t want this funding, Washington state is ready to put it to work,” Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said. “We’ve been committed to expanding and improving high-speed passenger rail not just to increase convenience for passengers, but to promote Washington state as a great place to visit and live. These rail lines take cars off our roads while moving workers and tourists between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C. These federal funds are an investment in our economy, and support hundreds of construction and operating jobs in our state.”

In early 2010, Washington was selected to receive $590 in federal high-speed-rail funding, part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants, administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). That was followed by an additional $161.5 million in Recovery Act funds redirected from Ohio and Wisconsin.

The additional funding could be applied to eligible projects in the Washington State Department of Transportation’s original 2009 Recovery Act application. The additional project work would result in added round trips between Portland and Seattle, improved schedule reliability and reduced travel times throughout the corridor. The cost of these projects in the original application was estimated at $539 million.

“These projects will boost rail-line capacity and relieve main-line congestion, as well as improve track quality, reliability and passengers’ rides,” said Hammond. “We will work with FRA to determine which projects should receive additional funding, based on the direct benefits to high-speed intercity passenger rail.”

Washington state strongly supports high-speed rail, as evidenced by its record-breaking ridership this year on the Pacific Northwest rail corridor. Amtrak Cascades ridership was up 10 percent in 2010 compared to 2009. The second train to Vancouver, B.C., which began in August 2009 and will continue at least through October 2011, was a major factor in the growing popularity of Amtrak Cascades."

Rep. Rick Larsen to Sec. Ray LaHood: We'll Take Some Of That $2.4 billion, Please

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Rep. Larsen wasted no time in contacting USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood and asking for some of the $2.4 billion in passenger rails grant funds being returned by Florida, announced yesterday.

Washington state is "well-positioned to use these funds on ready-to-go projects that will create jobs," Larsen told LaHood.

Washington received an additional $161 million when Wisconsin and Ohio returned passenger rail grant funds.

Use the tools below to increase the size of the letter for reading purposes.

Larsen Ltr to LaHood HSR 2-17-11

Federal Transit Director: Columbia River Crossing is a “critically needed” project

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Inclusion in a President's budget is a major step toward securing future federal funding. This week FTA Administrator this week discussed the reasons for including the Columbia River Crossing project in the President's FY 2012 budget:

“The existing bridge is inadequate and clearly needs replacement,” Rogoff said. “We are really keying on this project because WashDOT and all the other partners … are getting it right in that we’re going to build this big piece of infrastructure and combine all the highway and transit elements all at once.”

The project and three others are eligible to compete for funds from a $400 million program.

"Obama budget plan includes cash for new bridge," The Columbian

Extension of SAFETEA-LU Passes House Committee

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:44:00 +0000

SAFETEA-LU would be extended through September 30th, 2011 under legislation passed Wednesday (Feb 16th) by the House Transportation

H.R. 662, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011 is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Chair John Mica and Ranking Member Nick Rahall.

The bill extends programs at currently authorized levels, and is a “clean” extension with no policy changes.

What's next?

The full House is very unlikely to act on the bill this week. House members have an in-district work period during the week of February 21, so the House is most likely to act on the bill during the week of February 28.

Word on the street is that the Senate agrees with this legislative approach, and so it is very likely T-LU will be extended through the end of the year.

House Rejects Cuts to Amtrak Funding

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Ehl) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:32:00 +0000

[Update: 60 Republicans joined 190 Democrats to reject the funding cuts. All WA & OR Republican members voted in favor of the cuts. All WA & OR Democrats voted to reject the cuts.]

Earlier today the House voted 250-176 to reject an amendment to cut Amtrak funding by $446.9 million. The amendment sponsor argued that Amtrak is a proven "money-losing venture that the government can no longer sustain and support.”

Amtrak and passenger rail proponents noted the proposed cut would leave essentially no money for track maintenance or other improvement projects during the rest of the fiscal year.

Another amendment proposes to completely eliminate Amtrak funding for the remainder of the year. It's not yet clear if and when this amendment may be voted on.

Should it be offered, the amendment is very likely to be defeated.