Rolling toward a new bill (finally!).
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It's been a very long and winding road for the federal transportation bill. And while it looks like the end is finally in sight, there is still some nail-biting ahead.

The law that dictates how the federal government funds transportation expired over 900 days ago and has survived on extensions ever since. With the Highway Trust Fund facing bankruptcy by fall of 2013, and with idle construction workers waiting to build projects, the House and the Senate finally got their acts together and in over the past few months, both chambers have worked on their own versions of a new bill.

The bill that Republicans attempted to pass out of the House — but failed in doing so — was extremely bad. It scrapped decades of programs and funding for bicycling and walking and it included provisions to pay for new highways with domestic oil drilling. It was even too extreme for some Republicans. Fortunately, the Senate's bill, which they passed, turned out to be much more palatable. While it wasn't a slam dunk for biking, most prominent advocates considered it worth fighting for. (more...)

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (bow-tie) at a special meeting on Friday. To his left are ODOT Region 1 Manager Jason Tell and Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt.

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"Terrible", "horrible", "worst ever", "disaster", "defective" — these are just some of the terms that high-profile media outlets and top-ranking officials have used to describe the House transportation bill (H.R. 7, full text here as PDF).

Realizing that the bill is so far off base that no amount of amendments would help, national transportation advocacy groups have launched a coordinated attack to kill the bill.

Transportation for America, the League of American Bicyclists, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and hundreds of local and regional bike and transit advocacy organizations across the country have launched an attack against the bill, starting today with a national effort to flood Congressional offices with telephone calls voicing outrage. (more...)

Blumenauer does not take attacks
on bicycling lightly.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

As arguably the most bike and transit-sensitive member of the U.S. Congress, Earl Blumenauer has had a trying week.

Yesterday, the widely-maligned House transportation bill, a bill that eliminates the Safe Routes to School program and basically strips out all of the pro-bike provisions, moved through a marathon hearing and was passed out of committee this morning. Also this morning, Blumenauer saw the House Ways and Means committee debate — and then pass — a bill that severs the 30-year link between gas tax revenue and transit funding.
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Rep. John Mica at a bike industry
fundraising event in March 2009.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Since the House transportation bill has gone all crazy, I've been banging my head against my desk to figure out why Republican members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee are so afraid of including any mention of bicycling, transit (except to strip away dedicated funding for it), walking — or anything that doesn't harken back to the 1950s Interstate Highway era — in the bill.

Then it occurred to me (with some help from sources on Capitol Hill, who say there's a threatening letter going around from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that there better not be any mention of bicycling in the bill), perhaps they're afraid of Republican party leadership? (Feel free to point out my political naivete if this is an obvious thing.)

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Clark County and SW Washington House Rep.
Jamie Herrera Beutler voted against an
amendment that would have set
aside funds for Safe Routes to School
and other projects to improve biking.
(Still from Committee video)

It was very close; but despite passionate defense of biking and walking by House T & I Committee member Peter DeFazio (D-Eugene), the Petri/Johnson amendment failed this morning by a vote of 29-27.

The amendment — which would have reinstated set-asides for Transportation Enhancements and the Safe Routes to School program — was debated this morning during the first markup hearing of the House transportation bill (a.k.a. the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act). (more...)

He's fired up.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon Congressmen Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio are pulling no punches when it comes to leveling criticism at the House transportation bill that was released yesterday.

Referring to it as the, "Republican Highway and Transportation Bill," Blumenauer said in an official statement, "I am appalled at the fantasy finance scheme Republicans are proposing." Blumenauer is a senior member of the House Budget and Ways and Means committees, so he focused his criticisms on financial issues instead of simply bashing the bill for being anti-bike.

Here's more from Blumenauer's official statement (emphasis mine):

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Republican House member Jamie
Herrera Beutler, who represents
southwest Washington, sits on the
House T & I Committee and
bike advocates want her support
of an amendment to
the transportation bill.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It's the morning after the House transportation bill was unveiled, and it's being viewed as an abomination by national bike advocacy groups.

"Horrible" is how the League of American Bicyclists feels about it, and former House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Jim Oberstar told Politico this morning that the bill has been "hijacked" by "fringe policymakers."

Opponents of the bill are now counting on an amendment expected to be put forward by congressmen Tom Petri (WI) and Tim Johnson (IL) — both of whom are Republican members of the House T & I Committee. But the amendment needs two other Republicans on the committee to join them if it has any chance of being passed. (more...)

Congressman John Mica (R-FL) at a Safe
Routes to School event in his district in
October 2010. A bill drafted by Mica would
end the program.
(Photo: Safe Routes Partnership)

The draft federal transportation bill that was unveiled yesterday by Chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee John Mica (R-FL) would eliminate the national Safe Routes to School program.

Since it was enshrined in law by Congress in 2005, the Safe Routes program has funded hundreds of millions of dollars for crosswalk, bike parking, education, and much more to schools throughout the country.

Under the guise of "consolidation" and "streamlining," Mica's bill does away with the program entirely and strips mandates that require all state DOTs to have a dedicated staff person in charge of coordinating Safe Routes projects. It also, "Eliminates requirements for states to spend highway funding on non-highway activities." Of course the bill also "permits states to fund those activities if they so choose," however most national advocacy groups feel that, given the lack of a mandate, most states wouldn't so choose. (more...)

Cover of the bill (because
transportation is all about
big pipes and ugly freeway
overpasses right?!).

Once again, national advocacy groups are prepping the cannons for an all out assault on Congress as word spreads that the U.S. House of Representatives is will unveil a new surface transportation bill — dubbed the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act — today.

What do national advocacy groups and other advocates think about it?

"This Is Not a Drill: Highway Lobby Trying to Push Transpo Bill Thru Congress," reads a headline from Streetsblog DC.
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A sidepath in Beaverton.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Mandatory sidepath laws — which state that bikes must use a sidepath/bikeway when one is available — are the bane of bicycling advocates. They're seen as a clear sign of disrespect and inequality on our roads. The fact that Oregon still has one was called out by the League of American Bicyclists in 2008 as one of the main reasons for our disappointed fourth place bike-friendly state ranking.

Now the League is faced with the mother of all mandatory sidepath laws — the one that currently exists in MAP-21, the new transportation reauthorization bill that has already passed out of the Senate. As we pointed out earlier this week, the bill includes this unsavory passage: (more...)

The BTA's Rob Sadowsky is
already working contacts in DC
to improve the bill.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released their long-awaited transportation reauthorization bill last week (known as MAP-21), sending alarms throughout national bike advocacy circles because it, according to Streetsblog DC "eviscerates successful and popular programs to make biking and walking safer."

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance immediately signaled they would gird for battle due to the bill's "very alarming setbacks."
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Portland wants $25 million for 100
miles of new bike boulevards.
(Photos © J. Maus)

After a press conference in Portland last week, the City of Portland and Mayor Adams put out a statement that included a list of "priority projects" they'd like to see funded in the upcoming rewrite of the transportation bill. I sort of glossed over the list in my story about that press conference, so I wanted to focus your attention on it again.

Below is the list of projects (full project descriptions here) followed by some clarifying comments about them by Mayor Adams' Transportation Policy Director Catherine Ciarlo. (more...)

U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released the full text of the federal transportation bill. Calling it the "Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009," the 775-page document lays out every facet of how the United States manages its transportation system.

Last week we speculated what the bill might include and now we've got the real deal. I've been combing through it and looking for bike-related bits. So far, the most interesting section is the full description of the new Office of Livability.

If established as drafted in this bill, this new Office could be a very exciting step for biking in America.

The 20-page description of the Office of Livability begins by laying out the case against the status quo:

"Since the creation of the Interstate System, American surface transportation has been defined by the use of personal motor vehicles. The focus on automobiles has afforded Americans increased mobility and interconnectivity; yet has also lead to increased congestion, higher greenhouse gas emissions, and a reduced focus onother modes of surface transportation."

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Rep. Jim Oberstar speaking at the 2007
National Bike Summit.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Today -- the man who just two years ago stood in front of 2,000 Cycle Oregon riders in lycra shorts (after he himself battled the day's grueling climb) and told them he would "thread the language of bicycles into the federal transportation bill" -- got his chance when he submitted The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

U.S. Congressman James Oberstar, who is Chairman of that committee and a towering figure in the American bike movement, has presented the proposal along with House colleagues Peter DeFazio, John Mica, and John Duncan. (more...)

U.S. DOT Secretary
Ray LaHood.
(Photo © J. Maus)

U.S. Transporation Secretary Ray LaHood issued a statement today proposing an immediate, 18-month "highway reauthorization" to the current transportation bill.

The proposal is being made in an attempt to replenish the ailing Highway Trust Fund that could run out of cash by late August.

Also, beyond the 18-month mini-reauthorization, LaHood wants to reform the bill to help the federal government, "make better investment decisions with cost-benefit analysis, focus on more investments in metropolitan areas and promote the concept of livability to more closely link home and work."

Perhaps sensing the eyebrows this move might raise on Capitol Hill, LaHood added that, "with the reality of our fiscal environment and the critical demand to address our infrastructure investments in a smarter, more focused approach, we should not rush legislation." (more...)

Let's hope Rep. Oberstar's love
of biking seeps into his thinking on
federal transportation policy.
(Photos © J. Maus)

On Thursday (6/18), U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is expected to release a white paper outlining his plans for the forthcoming re-write of the federal surface transportation bill (Oberstar is Chair of the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee).

The current bill, passed in 2006 and known as SAFETEA-LU, will expire on September 30th. Many bicycle and sustainable transportation advocates are eager for a glimpse at what's on Oberstar's mind. They hope he makes good on the positive signals being sent from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, that this bill will chart a new course for America's ailing transportation system.
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U.S. Congressman Earl
Blumenauer has made his
transportation project
requests public.
(Photo © J. Maus)

[Via Mapes on Politics]

U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer has made his list of "High Priority" transportation projects public, and several of them are for bike-related projects in and around the Portland metro area. According to Blumenauer, the list was created to "ensure communities are full partners" in Congress's efforts to re-write the federal transportation bill.

Capitol Hill lawmakers are in the process of creating the new bill, and as per usual, there is expected to be a lot of political wrangling and scrambling on how the hundreds of billions of dollars are spent. A small percentage of funds in the bill will go toward "High Priority Projects" that are specifically designated by Members of Congress. (more...)

Below is a press release sent out yesterday by Metro. I have just received the actual resolution and list of projects and I might do another story about it on the Front Page soon.

For now...

Regional leaders unite to send strong message on federal transportation priorities

The Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) is set to approve tomorrow Metro Resolution 09-4016 – sending a list of policies and projects for federal funding to the Metro Council for final approval. The resolution sets funding and policy priorities for the next Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) six-year transportation investment program. (more...)

(Graphic: Transportation For America)

Yesterday, in cities across the country, Transportation For America launched their "Build for America" campaign.

The Build for America effort is focused on lobbying congress for increased federal investment in a "21st century transportation system" that will create new jobs via the construction of a world-class rail system, upkeep of our existing infrastructure, and construction of more public transit, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities. (See their, "Five Point Plan to Get our Economy Moving") (more...)