The Eno Center for Transportation > Articles > Week of April 1, 2019

Eno Transportation Weekly

Week of April 1, 2019

Budget, FY20

House, Senate Committees Approve FY20 Budget Plans

April 5, 2019 - The House and Senate Budget Committees have now approved vastly different spending plans for fiscal year 2020. While the House plan is headed for a vote by the full chamber next week, the Senate blueprint may have gone as far as it will ever go.

Automated vehicles

Evolving Policy Thought on Automated Vehicles

April 5, 2019 - This week, Eno released Beyond Speculation 2.0, an automated vehicle (AV) policy plan for federal, state, and local policymakers. An update to a paper released in 2017, this report covers the current state of affairs for AVs and provides some new and revised recommendations for the industry and elected officials.

In This Issue

Nominations

Senate Goes Nuclear (Again), Increasing Likelihood of Confirmation of Transportation Nominees

April 5, 2019 – This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) used the so-called “nuclear option” to change Senate procedures to cut the amount of time that the minority party can delay a vote on any executive branch nominee below the rank of Cabinet Secretary (or its equivalent) from 30 hours down to just [...]

By Jeff Davis

Highway Trust Fund, Highways

Texas Reignites Donor State Debate

April 5, 2019 – Texas tried to revive the old “donor state vs. donee state” highway funding debate last week. A March 26 letter to Congressional leaders from the Texas delegation complained that “Texas only receives 95 cents back for every dollar it sent to Washington in federal fuel taxes” and asked for a “fair, equitable [...]

By Jeff Davis

congestion pricing

New York OK’s First Cordon Congestion Pricing Program in U.S., With Many Details Still Undetermined

April 5, 2019 – On Sunday March 31, the New York State Legislature and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed off on a $175 billion budgetfor fiscal year 2020. The plan included dedicated funding streams for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), to be supported by a variety of sources including a central business district tolling program, [...]

By Brianne Eby

Traffic safety

T&I Looks at Street and Highway Safety

April 12, 2019 – The House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit met April 9th for a hearing on street and highway safety.

By Hayley Burton

PHMSA, pipelines

PHMSA Faces Pressure From Congress to Implement Pipeline Safety Mandates

April 4, 2019 – The House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials met April 2, 2019, for a hearing entitled “Pipeline Safety: Reviewing the Status of Mandates and Examining Additional Safety Needs.”

By Hayley Burton

HMTF

Disaster Relief Bill With HMTF Fix Delayed

April 5, 2019 A provision taking future Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund taxes and spending effectively "off-budget" has been delayed as the larger disaster relief appropriations bill in which it appears has been bogged down in a partisan dispute ove... Sorry - you don't have access to this item. Please log in below, or check out [...]

By Jeff Davis

Pre-1960s Attempts to Create a U.S. Department of Transportation – Part 1: Defining “Transportation” 1923-1942

April 3, 2019 – Part 1 of a look at pre-1960s proposals to create a U.S. Department of Transportation. This part covers the 20-year debate over whether the construction of public works to be used for transportation should be grouped with the promotion and regulation of such transportation.

By Jeff Davis

Capitol Hill Events – Week of April 8, 2019

Tuesday, April 9 – House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security – subcommittee hearing on the FY 2020 TSA and Coast Guard budget requests – 10:00 a.m., 310 Cannon. Tuesday, April 9 – House Transportation and Infrastructure – Subcommittee on Highways and Transit – subcommittee hearing on highway safety (witness list to [...]

By Jeff Davis