As the bi-partisan Senate transportation bill cues up for its first vote on Thursday and the partisan House bill gets roughed up in committee, the prospects for reconciling the bills seems dim.
In The Washington Post, Ashley Halsey III recounts the rough ride the House's 5-year transportation bill received from both parties in various committees last week, where more than a hundred efforts to amend the bill, including a dogged battle over dedicated Mass Transit funds, were beaten back.
Meanwhile, at Transportation Nation, Todd Zwillich outlines the prospects for MAP-21, the Senate's two-year transportation bill, which seems likely to have the 60 votes required to move forward.
Seeing a tough path ahead for the House bill, and the overall prospects for a reconciled bill passing this year, Halsey writes that, "That exercise will be replayed when the bill reaches the House floor, very likely with the same result. The vast differences between it and a Senate bill caused some to doubt the two could be reconciled this year."
FULL STORY: House Republicans’ transportation bill survives a beating in committees
Transportation Bill Clears House Committee
A five-year transportation bill has advanced in the House, but it has a long way to go before Americans should expect to see a final federal transportation policy emerge from Congress.
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The transportation bill known as MAP-21 expires in a little more than a year, but the key interest groups and political players are already staking out their positions. The posturing is compounded by the worsening state of the Highway Trust Fund.
GOP Up To Its Old Tricks on Transportation Bill
Tanya Snyder explores the recent horse-trading being proposed by House Republicans, in which they've expressed a willingness to pass the Senate transportation bill in exchange for Senate approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.
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An excerpt from the latest book on zoning argues for four approaches to reform that can immediately improve land use regulation in the United States.
San Francisco Just Ended Single-Family Zoning
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to Tuesday to eliminate single-family zoning, but pro-development advocates say additional changes are needed to unleash a wave of construction.
U.S. Rental Market Crosses a New Threshold of Affordability
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Supreme Court Guts the U.S. EPA’s Ability to Limit Carbon Emissions
The consequences of this ruling have long been foretold. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now officially barred from the fight against climate change, Congress will have to act to reduce carbon emissions.
California Approves Revised Los Angeles Housing Element
State officials officially approved the city’s housing plan, which was initially rejected for not doing enough to enhance housing equity.
Lawsuit Could Open Public Access to Colorado Rivers
Colorado is one of few U.S. states that has decided that private property owners supersede the public when it comes to access to rivers and streams.
Town of San Anselmo
Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA)
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education
Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education
City of Apache Junction
City of Helena
Gallatin County, Montana
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