Obama Considers GOP Congressman for Transportation

[S_E_Fudd]

Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) is in discussions with President-elect Obama to take a Cabinet-level post -- most likely secretary of the Department of Transportation, according to The Hill.

A GOP source said the Obama transition team would like to make an announcement about it on Friday.


http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/17/obama_considers_gop_congressman_for_transportation.html#disqus_thread

[WI_DEM]

1. does he come from a district that it's possible a dem could win?

[onenote]

13. La Hood is retiring from Congress. another repub won his seat in Nov.

Its a solidly repub district. The guy succeeding LaHood got 59 percent of the vote and will be the youngest member of Congress.

[EFerrari]

2. If the new administration does a rail public works project,

will it be out of this department?

Whoever gets it will make a few people rich.

[On the Road]

3. It's the Norm Mineta Strategy

[Captain Hilts]

9. Not necessary with Gates on the team. nt

[Captain Hilts]

4. He's keeping Gates, so he doesn't have to do that. nt

[FrenchieCat]

5. He doesn't have to do what?

Name a puke?

I'm sure he's not doing it because he "has" to. Thus far, it appears to that Obama is doing what he feels will work best.

[Captain Hilts]

7. He's being a politician. The Repub. party has been pro-highway and Anti-Amtrak, etc...

for decades. There is no reason to reward this stance with an appointment.

Obama is a politician.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Do you just type without research?

karynnj (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-17-08 10:32 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. I know nothing about him, but he is not anti-mass transit - if you search for information
He also was a co-sponsor on a bill called Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization To Encourage Ridership Act of 2008.

H.R.6030
Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a refundable credit against income tax for 50 percent of the employer's cost of providing tax-free transit passes to employees.
Sponsor: Rep Kirk, Mark Steven (introduced 5/13/2008) Cosponsors (10)
Latest Major Action: 5/13/2008 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Jump to: Summary, Major Actions, All Actions, Titles, Cosponsors, Committees, Related Bill Details, Amendments
SUMMARY AS OF:
5/13/2008--Introduced.

Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization to Encourage Ridership Act of 2008 or the Commuter Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a refundable tax credit for 50% of the cost of transit passes provided on a tax-free basis to employees.
MAJOR ACTIONS:

***NONE***

ALL ACTIONS:

5/13/2008:
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E901-902)
5/13/2008:
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

TITLE(S): (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill)

* SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED:
Commuter Act of 2008
Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization To Encourage Ridership Act of 2008

* OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED:
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a refundable credit against income tax for 50 percent of the employer's cost of providing tax-free transit passes to employees.

COSPONSORS(10), ALPHABETICAL : (Sort: by date)


Rep Biggert, Judy - 5/13/2008
Rep Calvert, Ken - 5/21/2008
Rep Carnahan, Russ - 6/4/2008
Rep Gerlach, Jim - 6/24/2008
Rep Kuhl, John R. "Randy", Jr. - 6/4/2008
Rep LaHood, Ray - 5/15/2008
Rep Lipinski, Daniel - 5/15/2008
Rep Reichert, David G. - 6/24/2008
Rep Roskam, Peter J. - 5/13/2008
Rep Shays, Christopher - 5/13/2008

He voted for the recent Amtrack bills
http://www.ontheissues.org/IL/Ray_LaHood_Environment.htm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7989043&mesg_id=7989315

[Captain Hilts]

19. I'm not a blind toadie for anyone. Since when are tax credits the way Democrats fund transit????

It's not. It's dedicated funding.

[WI_DEM]

6. well other democratic presidents such as JFK have had more than one token republican

JFK, for instance, had two, his treasury secretary and defense secretary, Robert MacNamara.

[Captain Hilts]

8. The R party has been anti- transit and should not be rewarded for it...

And Gates is a very high profile guy.

[WI_DEM]

12. What is LaHood's record on transit issues? I think Obama wouldn't give him

Transportation if he didn't have some kind of record of wanting to do more for transportation issues. I don't know the answer, I'm just asking.

[FrenchieCat]

15. This is what has been posted thus far

....for a puke, in terms of the issues, he appears to be pro-mass transit.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7989043&mesg_id=7989315

[MyNameGoesHere]

17. I love the way you defend our president,

but a puke is a puke, is a puke. That much never changes.

[Captain Hilts]

20. Dems don't fund transit through tax credits. They use dedicated funding. Yetch. nt

[FrenchieCat]

21. Possibly.....but our President always said the he wasn't going with party label so much....

so there is no surprise about this....
So the next rational step is to see the stance on the issue that this individual is being proposed for.

I'm just trying to keep it real without the hate....cause the hate ain't gonna get us very far. :)

[Captain Hilts]

22. He should appoint someone who is in favor of dedicated funding for transit.

I'd say the same thing about a lot of Democrats.

It's not about party.

[Occam Bandage]

14. But has LaHood? nt

[Thrill]

10. Sounds like this going to be the token Repuke post. Looks like they're looking at this Repuke too

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/814518.html

[QC]

16. Here's LaHood's On the Issues Page:

0% NARAL rating, 89% U.S. Chamber of Commerce rating, 13% ACLU rating, 25% from the Human Rights Campaign, 20% from the League of Conservation voters, supports school prayer amendment and Cuba embargo, etc.

On the plus side, he doesn't seem to have the reflexive hatred of public transportation that most members of his party share.

http://www.ontheissues.org/il/ray_lahood.htm

[Radical Activist]

18. Please no. LaHood has never been a public transportation advocate.

We need someone who's really committed to changing our transportation infrastructure and I can't think of a single major public transportation project that he helped bring to his district during his entire time in Congress.