Inside 208

The U.S. Senate is moving forward with legislation, S. 1813, that would put in place a new two year transportation authorization.  Floor votes began last week on amendments after agreement was reached by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as to how to proceed. Previous posts have noted...

Thanks to your efforts and those of advocates across the county, the transportation authorization funding bill on the floor of the U.S. Senate, S. 1813, now contains several key amendments. This includes the Cardin-Cochran amendment that increases local control over bicycle and pedestrian funding, the Franken-Blunt amendment that supports bridge...

Facing stiff opposition from all fronts, House leadership in Congress is changing their proposed transportation authorization bill.  Although it is uncertain when the bill will be brought before the full House, it has gone from a 5 year proposal to a 18-month proposal.  Recall that the Senate is working on...

Eminent domain…the words illicit strong opinions from all sides.  Michigan officials will recall the ballot proposal adopted several years ago amending our state’s constitution to severly restrict those instances in which eminant domain can be used.  Now the Congress appears to be moving ahead with its own version. The House...

Its been about two weeks since the President released his administration’s 2013 budget proposal.  And while it is just that, a proposal, and there are certainly other issues before the Congress, I thought it would be a good idea to start taking a closer look at some of the recommendations.  The following...

As the Senate seems ready to move forward with floor debate on its version of a transportation authorization legislation, House leaders have stated their intent to revise what came out of committee. It is widely known that the House bill has been meeting stiff opposition on a number issues and...

This week, the House and Senate will return from their “in-district” work weeks.  While the Senate appears ready to begin floor debate (despite several unrelated amendments to deal with) on a two year authorization bill, S. 1813, the House continues to struggle with internal opposition to H.R. 7 and is looking at...

In a major victory for municipalities and first responders across the country, the recently passed and enacted payroll tax cut compromise also includes the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. This means that when fully implemented, public safety will have a reliable communications network that will allow first responders to...

Both the House and Senate proposals to enact a new transportation authorization bill have stalled in their respective chambers. And as different as the bills are (see comparative summary), so are the reasons for their current state. In the House, proponents of the bill contend that the delay is over...

President Obama has released his 2013 budget recommendations.  And while the House and Senate will have their own ideas, the President’s budget is at the very least set a marker for administration priorities. As a example, the President’s budget includes specific ideas on how to improve cities and metropolitan areas  as well as rural...