Willamette Week interviews U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon about the shenanigans going on behind-the-scenes of the newly-approved Transportation Bill.
Willamette Week staff captured this fascinating interview with DeFazio a couple of weeks ago, before the bill was approved by Congress and it had been held up for years. DeFazio explains that the bill as drafted by the Republicans had a passage that gave the President the ability to define infrastructure projects in "the national competitive interest" and declare them exempt of "ALL the laws of the United States of America," clearly an attempt to override environmental protection policies. Talking to the drafters of the bill, DeFazio says he said, "You guys are Republicans, right? So, you're kind of concerned about private property rights? This would take away any Federal restrictions on taking by the Federal governments. Any laws that applied to that would be gone."
FULL STORY: DeFazio on Sausage-Making
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Heads to the House: Details and Reactions From the Planning World
Planetizen gathered explainer posts and advocacy responses that continue to shine a light on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, approved by the U.S. Senate earlier this month.
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process
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Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
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Supreme Court Ruling in Pipeline Case Guts Federal Environmental Law
The decision limits the scope of a federal law that mandates extensive environmental impact reviews of energy, infrastructure, and transportation projects.
Texas State Bills to Defund Dallas Transit Die
DART would have seen a 30% service cut, $230M annual losses had the bills survived.
Bikeshare for the Win: Team Pedals to London Cricket Match, Beats Rivals Stuck in Traffic
While their opponents sat in gridlock, England's national cricket team hopped Lime bikes, riding to a 3-0 victory.
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Planning for Universal Design
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Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)