Obama optimistic about transportation bill

President Obama said in his year-end press conference on Friday that he believes Congress can reach a bipartisan agreement on a long-term transportation funding bill next year, despite years of temporary extensions emanating from Washington.
December 23, 2014 Read time: 1 min

President Obama said in his year-end press conference on Friday that he believes Congress can reach a bipartisan agreement on a long-term transportation funding bill next year, despite years of temporary extensions emanating from Washington.

Obama has sent Congress a proposal for a four-year, $302 billion transportation bill that would be paid for largely with revenue from corporate tax reform proposals that have stalled on Capitol Hill, but lawmakers have ignored the president’s infrastructure measure.

Congress had a chance to pass a multi-year transportation funding package earlier this year, but lawmakers could not agree on a way to pay for more than a couple of months’ worth of projects, resulting in a temporary extension that provided funding for only eight months.

Obama said on Friday that he was hopeful transportation funding would be an area of bipartisan agreement when the GOP takes over both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006 in January, despite the prior inaction.

“Historically, obviously, infrastructure has not been a Democratic or a Republican issue,” he said. “And I'd like to see if we can return to that tradition.”

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • EU approves US$660 billion to transform Europe's transport network
    March 23, 2012
    The EU's Council of transport ministers met in Brussels yesterday and approved a proposal for a new regulation of Trans European Transport – Network (TEN-T) guidelines, in a package for a Connecting Europe Facility. The proposal approved yesterday, and which will cost US$660 billion by 2020 if fully implemented, is aimed at establishing and developing a complete TEN-T, consisting of infrastructure for roads, railways, inland waterways, shipping ports and airports. It also defined a comprehensive network and
    Read More
  • Connected vehicles - potential to transform US transportation
    April 12, 2013
    There’s a new face in the driving seat at the US Department of Transport’s ITS Joint Program Office. Fortunately, as Robin Meczes finds out, he’s no learner driver… Ask Kenneth Leonard why he wanted his new job as director of the ITS Joint Program Office, and his answer comes back without a second’s delay. “The potential to save lives, reduce injuries and help people enjoy a more efficient transportation system is the kind of challenge that makes me want to come to work each morning,” he says. “In my opinio
    Read More
  • South Africa's first multi-lane free-flow tolling top of the line
    February 3, 2012
    Kapsch's Kjell Arnesson talks about the first multi-lane free-flow tolling project in South Africa. In South Africa, installation is ongoing as part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) of the country's first Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) tolling system.
    Read More
  • The long road to Spanish enlightenment
    October 22, 2018
    Julián Núñez, immediate past president of ASECAP, gets his teeth into the vision of a European strategy for toll roads. David Arminas reports from Madrid. Getting European politicians to agree to a long-term cross-border highway infrastructure programme for toll roads is extremely difficult. It’s a bit like pulling teeth: people want to avoid the pain. But pain is something that Spanish operators, including Abertis, OHL, ACS, FCC and Acciona, have been going through for the past decade. The country has
    Read More

Highlighted Content