Oberstar's Revenge

Former Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and chair of the House Transportation Committee was ousted by Chip Cravaack (R) in 2010, who took his seat on the committee and proceeded to gut Oberstar's goals. Cravaack was ousted by Rick Nolan (D), on Nov. 6.

November 8, 2012, 6am PST | Irvin Dawid

Streetsblog's Tanya Snyder provides the political update on former House Transportation & Infrastructure Chair Jim Oberstar's congressional district as part of her article on what's in store for transportation with the 113th Congress.

"Cravaack went along with the Republican plan to cut transportation spending by a third, and then cheered the proposal to pay for a more robust budget with oil drilling money. His most notable achievement in the transportation bill was the elimination of any provisions supporting the mere consideration of revenue collection based on a vehicle-miles-traveled fee. He pushed for gas tax revenue to go exclusively to roads and bridges, not active transportation."

Nolan is a "former three-term Minnesota DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) congressman".

Snyder foresees more transportation gridlock ahead as Congress remains divided after the election with "less than two years until the current transportation law, MAP-21, expires September 30, 2014."

"Other lingering questions: Will Ray LaHood really leave, as he said he would, or might he stick around at least for another year or two, as some insiders speculate?"

Thanks to Climate Plan

Full Story:

Election Reveals Who Will Shape the Next Transportation Bill

Published on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 in Streetsblog Capitol Hill