Independent voices from the TWT Communities
He doesn't utter discredited terms such as "stimulus" or "shovel-ready" anymore, but President Obama renewed his push Monday for at least $50 billion more in spending on roads and bridges as he introduced his pick for secretary of transportation.
The Senate easily passed a transportation bill Wednesday that breaks precedent by not relying solely on federal gas taxes to foot the bill for highway, infrastructure and public-transit projects nationwide.
The Senate this week could face a showdown over exactly what is an earmark, after one senator vowed to challenge money set aside in the pending transportation bill by the chamber's top lawmaker, Sen. Harry Reid.
With lawmakers and presidents reluctant to find new sources of revenue for transportation projects, Mr. Frankel said, Washington is turning increasingly to forms of borrowing such as Mr. Obama's proposal for a national infrastructure bank.
Obama nominates rail advocate, paves way for more transportation spending →
"I think that's important, but I don't think that's really sufficient," Mr. Frankel said.
Obama nominates rail advocate, paves way for more transportation spending →
