Media
Infrastructure in the News: March 18, 2015
The Hill: Congress scrambling to protect highway funds
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/236038-congress-scrambling-to-protect-highway-funds
Lawmakers inched closer Tuesday to settling for a temporary infrastructure funding patch,
Infrastructure in the news: March 17, 2015
NATIONAL NEWS
New York Times: Streetcar Revival Is Wavering in Some Cities
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/business/streetcar-revival-is-wavering-in-some-cities.html?_r=1
First, suburban Arlington, Va., abandoned long-laid plans last fall to build a streetcar line its leaders hoped would help revitalize a neglected corridor. Now, across the Potomac, the District of Columbia is rethinking the whole idea, after spending $160 million to bring the trolleys back to the nation’s capital, after more than half a century.
Infrastructure in the News: March 16, 2015
BAF IN THE NEWS
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Ed Rendell: Trade equals jobs
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2015/03/16/Ed-Rendell-Trade-equals-jobs/stories/201503160016
The problem with trade policy, Adlai Stevenson once lamented, is that its “greatest need is for fresh cliches.” In other words, it’s boring.
Yet, just like infrastructure and education, promoting trade is a critical investment in America’s future. The stakes are especially high for middle-class Americans, who stand to gain the most if America leads on trade and lose the most if it doesn’t.
Infrastructure in the News: March 13, 2015
BAF IN THE NEWS
NBC Philadelphia: State Leaders Call Out Federal Politicians to Fund Infrastructure Safety
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/State-Leaders-Call-Out-Federal-Politicians-to-Fund-Infrastructure-Safety-296112451.html#ixzz3UGmb5WlF
“The main villain in this story is the federal government,” former Governor Ed Rendell said.
Rendell co-chairs the nonprofit group Building America’s Future. The group is a bipartisan coalition focused on America’s infrastructure needs.
Infrastructure in the News: March 12, 2015
BAF IN THE NEWS
Fox News: Bill O'Reilly: The aftermath of e-mail gate
http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/03/12/bill-oreilly-aftermath-e-mail-gate/
ED RENDELL (D), FORMER GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA: But look, this country's infrastructure has fallen apart. We have 47 senators who for the first time in the history of this country sent a letter to a foreign country undermining the President and we're talking about e-mails?
Infrastructure in the News: March 11, 2015
BAF IN THE NEWS
Real Clear Politics: Rendell on Hillary's Presser: Infrastructure In This Country Is Falling Apart And We're Talking About Emails
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/03/10/rendell_on_hillarys_presser_infrastructure_in_this_country_is_falling_apart_and_were_talking_about_emails.html
Former Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) appeared on MSNBC to react to Hillary Clinton's press conference earlier today. Rendell, a Clinton loyalist, scolded the media, including MSNBC, for focusing on the Hillary Clinton private email controversy and not infrastructure and public education in America.
"This country infrastructure is falling apart," Rendell said Tuesday on MSNBC's NOW with Alex Wagner. "We had 47 Senators who for the first time in the history of this country sent a letter to a foreign country undermining the president and we're talking about e-mails?"
"There's something wrong with the political process," Rendell added.
"It's the chattering class, which is all of us, myself included, we talk about stuff like this. When's the last time we had a real serious discussion about how to fund the infrastructure needs of this country? Our infrastructure is falling apart. And I haven't seen it on MSNBC. I haven't seen it on FOX," Rendell said
2015 State of the State: Infrastructure Mentions
It's that time of year again... Governors across the nation are making State of the State speeches to set their vision and policy agenda for 2015.
Curious how they’re prioritizing infrastructure? Reforming how projects are funded? Planning on upgrading our water infrastructure and repair our roads/bridges? BAFEF created this webpage to serve as a one-stop-shop for any infrastructure-related mentions.
Infrastructure in the News: March 10, 2015
NATIONAL NEWS
Washington Post: Supreme Court says Amtrak is more like a public entity than a private firm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/2015/03/09/dd125130-c691-11e4-aa1a-86135599fb0f_story.html
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Amtrak is more like a government entity than a private business, but several justices said there might be serious constitutional issues with the powers that Congress has entrusted to it.
Infrastructure in the News: March 9, 2015
BAF IN THE NEWS
The Fiscal Times: Why Winter Ravaged Roads and Bridges Need a Gas Tax Makeover
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/03/09/Why-Winter-Ravaged-Roads-and-Bridges-Need-Gas-Tax-Makeover#sthash.vq1xIf4s.dpuf
Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Fiscal Times recently he agreed with groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO that Congress should increase the federal gas tax by 10 cents a gallon and index it for inflation to underwrite highway and infrastructure spending.
“Without a big pot of money, we are never going to get back to being number one in infrastructure,” said LaHood, co-founder of the bipartisan Building America’s Future fund.
A new study by the conservative leaning Tax Foundation dismisses those tax reform approaches as wrongheaded and makes a strong case for doing what LaHood and other highway activists recommend: simply raising the federal gas tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 28 cents a gallon and annually adjusting it for inflation.
Infrastructure in the News: March 6, 2015
NATIONAL NEWS
Reuters: Exclusive: White House Mulled, Then Balked at Curbing Explosive Gas on Oil Trains
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/03/05/world/europe/05reuters-usa-train-vapors.html?_r=0
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration weighed national standards to control explosive gas in oil trains last year but rejected the move, deciding instead to leave new rules to North Dakota, where much of the fuel originates.