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TODAY Friday 13 March 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site.

 

TODAY IN THE WORLD: Good News from the Senate

Senator Alphonse D'Amato -- whose scalp was coveted in the most recent OpEd by Hibernicus -- appears to have been an influential force in the passage this week of a pretty acceptable transportation bill. Never underestimate the power of the thirst for re-election. Up from zero in his ratings from the League of Conservation Voters a few years ago, New York's junior Senator now presents himself as an environmentalist. And truth to tell, whether it's standing up for the new Clean Air standards, hectoring the Brookhaven National Lab about disposal of its toxic wastes, or adding Republican oomph to mass-transit friendly provisions of this new transportation bill, the guy has been quite useful of late.

Detailed info on what's in the Senate transportation bill can be found at the site maintained for that purpose by the estimable Surface Transportation Policy Project. Here are the main points:

• $214 billion for six years.
• Strengthening of the two programs most jealously guarded by the environmentalist lobby: the transportation "enhancements" program (e.g. bikelanes, sidewalks, bus stops) and the Congestion Mitigation / Air Quality program, which allows local officials a wide range of options to help them comply with the Clean Air Act requirements. CMAQ is only grudgingly tolerated by most state transpo guys (they like the "congestion mitigation" part better than the "air quality" part), but it was deemed crucial by the enviros.
• About $42 billion for mass transit.

If you were Tsar of the United States and designing a transportation program for a planet-friendly America, you would not allow this current bill to set national policy: despite the nice parts for the environmentalists, the great bulk of the money goes for highways and more highways. But in the current circumstances, the Senate version turned out a lot better than was feared about two weeks ago. The truckers and the automakers and the AAA ("That Darn Triple-A") had launched a major offensive, and amendments from influential western Senators were introduced to cut back on transit, gut the environmental-review requirements, and generally favor roadpaving. This where Alphonse D'Amato proved his worth. He worked the Republican side of the aisle assiduously (seeing to it, for example, that mass transit funds included support for vans for the elderly in rural areas), and generally helped the good guys save their legislative lunch.

Now to the House, traditionally more friendly to higher transpo appropriations in general and mass transit in particular (the operative principle being the desirability of a ribbon-cutting photo op for each congressional district). If the enviros can defend the linkages with the Clean Air Act, the verbose mess which will end up on the President's desk will probably be something worth signing.

 

TODAY ON THE SITE

We are just loaded with good stuff about transportation around here. Let's see... There's Automobiles (alternative) by Amory Lovins, Jonathan Fox and Brett Williams; Automobiles (electric) by Jeff Zesiger; Automobiles (fuel economy) by Dan Becker and Steve Pedery; Trails (hike/bike) by Hugh Morris; Trains(high speed) by Howard learner; and Transportation (general) by Stephanie Jensen. And don't forget Land Use by Keith Bartholomew and, for future reference, Space Colonies by the superbly monikered H. Hilliard Gastfriend.

 

Recent "Today" columns:

3/12: Children and Cancer
3/11: Save Our Beaches!
3/10: Die Gruenen und der SDP
3/9: In Search for the Holy Grail of the Forests
3/6: My Doom, Your Gloom
3/5: The Great D. P. Moynihan
3/4: "An Earthquake in Insurance"
3/3: Salmon Farming
3/2: Our Friends the Duck Killers
2/27: Trust El Nino
2/26: That Darn Triple-A
2/25: Cutting a Deal on Endangered Species
2/24: Fire? Again?
2/23: Garbage
2/20: Population Rebellion in the Sierra Club
2/19: The Trouble With Cattle

To access more "Today" columns, click "Archives" below.