New T4A report out today: Measuring What We Value
With pressure mounting to ensure our limited transportation dollars go as far as possible, a new report out today from Transportation for America takes a close look at the growing trend of using performance measures to establish clear priorities and measure the success of our transportation investments.
Updated House passenger rail bill is identical to last year’s promising compromise bill
It’s back! After the encouraging release of a compromise bill to govern the nation’s passenger rail policy in the last Congress, a nearly identical bill was introduced and passed out of committee this month and could be debated on the House floor as early as next week.
West coast port closures example of the worst case scenario
The eight-month labor dispute that left fully loaded container ships anchored off the west coast for weeks caused an “epic” back-up that underscored just how critical the smooth movement of freight is to the nation’s economy.
Update on 17 states moving to raise money for transportation
From Washington to South Carolina, 17 state legislatures (and counting) are debating plans to raise new revenue for transportation after a decade in which their primary funding sources shrank and federal support became increasingly uncertain. See the current state of play in our freshly updated national roundup.
Voters overwhelmingly re-elect candidates who raise transportation revenue, analysis of general election results shows
Continuing a trend observed in the primaries, an updated T4America analysis of November’s election data shows that, since 2012 in ten states that passed legislation to raise new transportation revenue, 90 percent of the supportive legislators retained their seats — knowledge that should be instructive for the legislators in 17 states now considering similar plans to raise state transportation revenue in 2015.
UPDATE: Better bang for the buck — learn more about performance measurement
Developing a better system to measure the performance of our transportation spending is an idea that’s gaining momentum, and we want to help you be on the cutting edge.
Rep. Shuster and Sec. Foxx address the importance of local control in today’s Twitter town hall
In what was billed as the “first Twitter town hall with a Congressional committee chair and a cabinet secretary,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster sat down together and held an hour long Twitter town hall meeting to hear questions from the public about the reauthorization of the country’s transportation law and the upcoming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
TODAY at 12 p.m. EST: Tweet your thoughts to Secretary Foxx and Chairman Shuster
As we inch closer to MAP-21’s expiration date and the insolvency of the nation’s transportation trust fund, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is partnering with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) to host a Twitter “Town Hall” today at 12 p.m. EST to hear from the public on the issue.
15 issues to watch in ’15, Part III: People
The members of Congress who will rewrite the nation’s transportation policies and attempt to raise funding to keep the program afloat is just one important discussion taking place this year. More states will continue efforts to raise transportation revenue and mayors in communities of all sizes will move forward key transportation initiatives; among others on a long list of people with an important role to play in 2015. Here are five that rose to the top, but tell us who you think we missed.
Rep. Blumenauer introduces plan to raise the federal gas tax
Supported by 23 cosponsors in the House, a representative from Transportation for America and a plethora of national construction, transportation and labor groups, Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Welch introduced the UPDATE ACT (HR 680) to increase the federal gas tax by 15 cents over three years and index it to the inflation.
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure beyond just the price tag. Learn more about T4America's three simple principles for federal transportation investment.
Read our new principles