February 2, 2012 Dear Chairman Camp and Ranking Member Levin: On behalf of the nation’s local elected officials and public transportation leaders, we are writing to express our strong opposition to H.R. 3864, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Financing Act of 2012, which includes a provision that would jeopardize the future of public transportation. Specifically, the proposal to redirect federal gas tax revenues away from public transportation would undermine years of investment in our nation’s transportation infrastructure and could prevent local governments and transportation providers from entering into multi-year construction contracts, jeopardizing jobs that are urgently needed. America is home to 7,700 public transportation systems, which range from three-van systems serving isolated seniors in rural communities to large urban systems serving millions of passengers each day. Taken together, these systems provide 400,000 direct jobs for American workers. Public…

Today, John Robert Smith, president and CEO of Reconnecting America, testified before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, representing the Transportation for America coalition. Co-founded by Reconnecting America, the Transportation for America coalition consists of housing, business, environmental, public health, transportation, equitable development, and other organizations who are all seeking to align our national, state, and local transportation policies with an array of issues like economic opportunity, energy security, health, housing and community development.

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith applauded today's award of nearly $600 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II construction and planning grants.

A new analysis by the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that only two in five American communities — or 39 percent — are affordable for typical households when their transportation costs are considered along with housing costs. CNT is a partner with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. CTOD was involved in the initial work to develop the index in cooperation with the Brookings Institution. (See this report.) The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, unveiled March 24, examines 337 metro areas across the country—encompassing 161,000 neighborhoods and 80 percent of the U.S. population—and provides the only comprehensive snapshot of neighborhood affordability by accounting for combined housing and transportation costs associated…

Alan Ehrenhalt, the editor of Governing magazine, has a long commentary discussing "Paul Weyrich's Soft Spot for Public Transit." The column is prompted by "Moving Minds: Conservatives And Public Transportation," a collection of writings by Weyrich and William Lind published jointly by Reconnecting America and the Free Congress Foundation. (Order the book here.)

"The libertarian noise machine against public transportation has been so loud in recent years that it would be easy to conclude all conservatives must agree with it," writes Ehrenhalt. "That is why it is so interesting to come across the new book Moving Minds, the contrarian work that Paul M. Weyrich wrote before his untimely death last year."

As Ehrenhalt points out, Weyrich spent 20…

The United States needs to link transportation and climate change policies if it hopes to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions enough to ward off the worst impacts of global climate change, according to a new study by the Center for Clean Air Policy.

hifting from a highway-centered federal transportation focus to one centered around transit is explored in a U.S.PIRG document. The specific greenhouse gas savings from using transit is explored in another document. Finally, the national numbers behind greenhouse gases are explored in a FTA presentation.

The profits of investing in properties near transit and the effect of housing near transit on vehicle trips are explored in a pair of documents added to the Best Practices.