Senate Legislation Hopes to Overhaul National Surface Transportation Policy

Later today, Senators Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) plan to introduce legislation on the United States Senate floor to influence federal transportation spending for the next five years.

This article by the Washington Post discusses the several goals laid out by this upcoming legislation, including:

• Decrease per capita motor vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis;
• Reduce national surface transportation-generated carbon dioxide levels by 40 percent by 2030; and
  
• Increase the proportion of national freight provided by means other than trucks by 10 percent by 2020.

While policymakers continue to explore transportation options that hope to promote more sustainable and "livable" communities, these measures also align with the Administration's goals.

One such example, as cited by the article, is the inclusion of $8 billion to go towards high speed rail systems in last February's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that had been added at the last minute by the White House.