Below is the latest from Metro’s government relations staff on efforts to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund from going into the red; the fund supports road projects and mass transit across the United States. This has been a problem for many years but no solution seems imminent, particularly in [continue reading]
For masochistic readers following the tortuous path of transportation funding in Congress, here are a dynamic duo of legislative updates from Metro’s government relations staff. The first is good news: the House of Representatives restored transportation funding in the budget for the second half of this fiscal year. The second [continue reading]
Hey — at least this post isn’t about the sequester! From Metro’s government relations squad: Today [Monday], the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) released the text of legislation (H.R. 933) that would serve to fund the U.S. Government through the end of Federal Fiscal [continue reading]
As many of you know, President Obama last week signed a two-year federal transportation spending bill. In recent decades, Congress has usually approved bills that cover more years but in these hyper-partisan times, and after nine extensions of the bill that expired in 2009, this definitely was a victory. In [continue reading]
Below is the update from Metro’s government relations staff. This is the ninth extension of the previous multi-year federal transportation bill, which was signed into law by President Bush in 2005 and expired originally in 2009. The update: A few moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 90-day [continue reading]
Earlier today, local officials also called on the House to vote on the bill, which contains elements of Metro’s America Fast Forward program to provide federal loans for large transit project. Here’s the update from Metro’s government relations staff: Over 80 Democrats are urging Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to bring [continue reading]
Metro officials joined labor and business leaders on Wednesday morning at a rally along the Orange Line Extension in Chatsworth to urge the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a two-year transportation spending bill. Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa, Metro Directors Richard Katz and Mel Wilson [continue reading]
Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed. CTA seeks to sell some naming rights (Chicago Tribune) The CTA runs the [continue reading]
This just in from Metro’s government relations staff — it’s a nice step forward for the America Fast Forward program: Moments ago, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly (74 to 22) to adopt its surface transportation bill (S. 1813), also known as MAP-21. The bill, championed by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer [continue reading]
Metro’s government relations provided the agency with the following update late Tuesday. The multi-year bill provides considerable funding for transit agencies across the nation: Today, the U.S. Senate continued debate on amendments related to S. 1813, also known as MAP-21. It is expected that the Senate will vote on final [continue reading]
