Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Time for some CLEAN-TEA



On March 11, 2009, the Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Equity Act, known as CLEAN-TEA for short, was introduced in Congress as the next transportation Federal aid package.

Senators Carper (D-DE) and Specter (R-PA) and Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR), Tauscher (D-CA), and LaTourette (R-OH) are the lead sponsors of S. 575 in the Senate and H.R. 1329 in the House. CLEAN-TEA would be the latest in a line of Federal aid transportation packages that began with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and have included recent reauthorizations known as ISTEA (1991, pronounced "ice tea"), TEA-21 (1998), and SAFETEA-LU (2005), the current act which expires on September 30, 2009.

Some had speculated that the next package would be called "GREEN-TEA," but it looks like "CLEAN-TEA" won out in the end.)

Read the press release from Representative Blumenauer for the perspective of one of the sponsors.

Alternatively, there is a one-page PDF summary from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and a two-page factsheet from Smart Growth America that focuses on the relationship between CLEAN-TEA and reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). (From their website: "Smart Growth America is a coalition of national, state and local organizations working to improve the ways we plan and build the towns, cities and metro areas we call home.")

You can follow the Senate version here and the House version here as the bills go through the legislative process.


In leading up to development of a new transportation package, a National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released a report concerning the challenges we face as as nation with respect to maintaining and improving our transportation infrastructure.


Whatever the final Federal transportation aid package, it will have significant effects on the national , state and local transportation system for years to come.

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