Upstart Airline Creates Turbulence for Big U.S. Carriers, Union Leaders
An upstart transcontinental airline says it’s making headway with lower costs for passengers and higher pay for workers, but its business model put it on… Read More
Happy Birthday, Amtrak! Here Are Your Presents. Love, The Taxpayers.
Amtrak, the federally subsidized passenger rail service, made headlines in recent months after an Inspector General report said it offered $428,000 worth of free wine,… Read More
Steering Transportation Policy: Empower People and the States, Not Washington
Alfonse D’Amato, a long-time former Republican Senator from New York, reveled in his nickname: Senator Pothole. “It means you’re attentive and you’re there and available,”… Read More
Ryan Budget’s Transportation Takeaway: Give States More Flexibility and Control
Why does House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan’s (R–WI) budget proposal matter to you? Because it would empower citizens and state and local governments, not… Read More
Latest Jones Act Fiasco Costs New Jersey Taxpayers $700,000
A federal law called the Jones Act recently prevented New Jersey officials from treating dangerous roads with salt. Faced with a shortage of salt, state… Read More
The Policy Solution That Could Help You Spend Less Time Stuck in Traffic
States—not Washington—best understand their transportation problems and how to solve them. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) recently expressed this fact at the 2014… Read More
Obama’s Massive ‘Unified’ Transportation Plan Would Hurt Commuters, Businesses
If you set aside $50,000 dollars for your child’s college education, would you want to be forced to give a large portion of that money… Read More
Obama’s Heavy-Duty Audacity
President Obama grabbed headlines this week for (supposedly) bypassing Congress to advance his global warming agenda. As part of what aides characterize as a “muscular… Read More
Obama Changes His Rhetoric, Not His Liberal Prescriptions
In terms of substantive policy, President Barack Obama’s latest State of the Union Address contained little of interest. The President offered up more of the… Read More
It’s Good to Be the Budget Chairman: Patty Murray’s Omni-BUS Carve-Out
At least one special favor is hiding deep in the omnibus—giving one county’s government-subsidized transit system the advantage over private transportation. Buried on page 1,460… Read More
Phones on Airplanes: FCC Moves to Lift Rules
Something unusual is happening at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). At a meeting earlier this afternoon, the commission—led by Obama-appointed chairman Tom Wheeler—voted to review… Read More
Budget Conference Spending Cuts: Start with Amtrak Subsidies
A good place for budget conferees to start cutting federal spending would be at Amtrak, the federally subsidized passenger rail service, with its $72 million… Read More
Changing the Transportation Status Quo: Empowering the States
Senator Mike Lee (R–UT) and Representative Tom Graves (R–GA) have introduced twin bills (S. 1702 and H.R. 3486) called the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), which… Read More
Cloakroom: September 29 – October 5
House Cloakroom Analysis: On Saturday, the House did its part to take a government shutdown off the table by passing a bill that funded the… Read More
Why DOE Is Wasting $45 Million of Your Money
Last week we wrote about the Department of Energy (DOE) wastefully spending $45 million in taxpayer dollars on advanced transportation technologies. The federal government spending… Read More
What’s Another $45 Million at the Energy Department?
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced it is spending $45 million of taxpayer money for 38 different projects for advanced transportation technologies. But private companies… Read More
Obama on Infrastructure: Wrong Again on Government “Investments”
In yet another summer speech on the economy yesterday, President Obama trotted out familiar tax-and-spend ideas, this time pairing his latest call for a tax… Read More
SecurityNews
TSA PreCheck Expansion: A Step in the Right Direction
In a welcome move, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that it is expanding the pre-screening program known as PreCheck to the general public…. Read More
Sequest-Air: Senate Bill Beats FAA Clumsy Sequestration Strategy
As “Sequest-air”—the political fight over the flight delays caused by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to furlough air traffic controllers—gained momentum yesterday, the Senate… Read More
Time to Rethink Federal Highway Trust Fund Spending
The Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which funds most surface interstate transportation programs, from roads to bridges, faces insolvency in a few short years. In a… Read More
Federal Taxpayers Get Billed for $1 Million Bus Stop
Is a luxurious bus stop worth $1 million? Commuters boarding buses at the newly constructed stop in Arlington County, Virginia, don’t seem to think so,… Read More
Ryan House Budget Would End Spending on High-Speed Rail
Federal funding for high-speed rail would end under the House fiscal year 2014 budget introduced by Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI). Costly high-speed rail… Read More
Why Federal Transit Hasn’t Lived Up to Its Promises
Next City, the nonprofit organization that produced this recent Super Bowl commercial parody, and other transit advocates claim that trains, buses, and even trolleys provide… Read More
Secretary Ray LaHood to Leave Department of Transportation
Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood is moving on. In an e-mail to DOT employees announcing his plans to leave, LaHood highlighted what he… Read More
Taxpayer-Funded Infrastructure Bank: The “Investment” Isn’t Worth It
Bad ideas never seem to die. But the proposal to create a national infrastructure bank to federally fund transportation and infrastructure projects with taxpayer dollars… Read More
Obama Inauguration Speech: More Transportation “Investment”
President Obama hinted toward at least one aspect of his second-term agenda during yesterday’s inaugural address: more transportation “investment.” No surprise there. Obama’s past budget… Read More
Gambling Taxpayer Money on a High-Speed Train to Vegas
Even as the President and Congress have again failed to deal with the genuine fiscal threats facing the nation, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is… Read More
Fuzzy Numbers Drive Obama Hurricane Sandy Request
According to the Financial Times, the insurance industry estimates the total bill for insurers from Hurricane Sandy will be between $20 billion and $25 billion…. Read More
Low Carbon Fuel Standards Will Drive Gas Prices Higher
The national average of gasoline is $3.78 per gallon, with some drivers experiencing a price of more than $4 per gallon. The price at the… Read More
XpressWest High-Speed Rail Project: Speeding Toward a Taxpayer Bailout
Outdated forecast data containing rosy economic assumptions and signaling potential cost overruns plagues the planned $6.9 billion XpressWest high-speed rail project connecting Victorville, CA, to… Read More
