Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 24, No. 4
It seems like not a week goes by without fresh warnings about the nation’s “crumbling infrastructure” and renewed appeals to rebuild our aging highways and bridges. President Obama reinvigorated the campaign with his State-of-the-Union proposal for a $50 billion program of infrastructure investments, $40 billion of which would be devoted to a “fix-it-first” program targeted at urgent improvements such as “structurally deficient” bridges.
Posts Tagged ‘C. Kenneth Orski’
Wanted: A Reasoned Approach to Dealing with America’s Infrastructure Needs
Thursday, March 21st, 2013Obama’s $50 Billion Fix-It-First Program
Friday, February 22nd, 2013Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 24, No. 3
Reactions to President Obama’s $50 billion “Fix-It-First” infrastructure initiative continue to pour in. While the transportation industry and liberal advocacy groups publicly applaud the President, “insider reaction among the major transportation stakeholder groups amounts to profound disappointment on a private level,” wrote the influential Washington Letter on Transportation (WLT) in its latest issue.
Infrastructure Advocacy and Public Credibility
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 24, No. 2
Last week, infrastructure was in the news again. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, proposed a $50 billion infrastructure initiative, $40 billion of which would be devoted to a “fix-it-first” program targeted at urgent improvements such as “structurally deficient” bridges. The following day, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on “The Federal Role in America’s Infrastructure,” focusing on the importance of infrastructure for the U.S. economy and the federal role in its preservation and expansion.
Searching for Novel Approaches to Transportation Funding
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 24, No. 1
As we enter the New Year (and begin our 24th year of publication), the debate about transportation funding is taking a new turn. Talk of raising the federal gas tax has become muted and even the efficacy of the gas tax itself is being questioned. And no wonder: vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient, CAFE standards are becoming more stringent, vehicle use is leveling off, and hybrids and electric vehicles are expected to slowly but surely increase their market penetration.
Higher Gas Tax Unlikely to Gain Support in U.S. Congress
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 23, No. 31
Although some infrastructure advocates are hoping to use the current budget negotiations to win support for an increase in the federal gasoline tax, the idea is unlikely to gain support in Congress or the Administration. While the 2010 Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission proposed raising the federal gas tax by 15 cents/gallon as part of a broad deficit-reduction plan, neither House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) nor Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have endorsed the idea.
View this complete post...Is it Time to Talk About a Gas Tax Increase?
Friday, November 16th, 2012Innovation NewsBriefsVol. 23, No. 30 Reprinted from the National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog, “Moving the Dial on the Gas Tax,” week of November 12 (Comment by Kenneth Orski, Publisher of Innovation Briefs) As one senior congressional aide confided to us, “I don’t see our constituents lobbying to raise the gas tax. The only people we […]
View this complete post...The Future of Passenger Rail in America
Monday, October 29th, 2012Innovation NewsBriefsVol. 23, No. 28 On October 19, an Amtrak passenger train hit 111 mph in a test run on a 15-mile stretch of track between Dwight and Pontiac, Illinois. It was the first tangible return from a three-year $1.5 billion program of improvements funded under the Administration’s high-speed rail initiative. The program hopes ultimately […]
View this complete post...Transportation Infrastructure in the Post MAP-21 Era
Monday, October 22nd, 2012Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 23, No. 27
Proponents of a more robust level of spending for transportation infrastructure ignore the political realities. With mounting deficits and the shadow of a $16 trillion debt hovering over all fiscal decisions, Congress is not about to vastly increase spending on transportation. Concern about deteriorating infrastructure has failed to resonate with the electorate during the election campaign.
Warnings of an “Infrastructure Crisis” are Meeting with Skepticism
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 23, No. 26
Is the “infrastructure crisis” a myth or a reality? Many within the transportation community firmly believe that the crisis is real. They point out that many of our roads, bridges and transit systems are approaching the end of their useful life and are badly in need of repair, reconstruction and modernization.
Chicago Tribune Joins The Ranks Of High-Speed Rail Critics
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012Innovation NewsBriefs
Vol. 23, No. 25
Last year, in congressional testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on high speed rail, we cited the Chicago-to-St.Louis “high-speed rail” project as an example of the Administration’s wasteful use of its economic stimulus money. We pointed out that the $1.4 billion program of track upgrades will allow top speed of 110 mph but will raise average speeds of Amtrak trains between Chicago and St. Louis by only 10 miles per hour, from 53 to 63 mph.
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