According to the American Planning Association, the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has begun consideration of a broad climate and energy bill. The still unnumbered measure, the Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act, was introduced by Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and is expected to be part of a comprehensive global warming package slated for House consideration later this summer.
The bill’s array of provisions covers transit, rail, government buildings, and ports. It authorizes $850 million for each of the next two fiscal years for expanding transit services, increasing the federal share for alternative fuel equipment payments, and enhancing air quality improvement programs. For rail, $50 million annually would be authorized in grants for local governments and railroad carriers to buy locomotives that exceed U.S. EPA emissions standards; $250 million per year would go to a capital grant program for improving regional railroads, like the upcoming Detroit-Ann Arbor train.