State ponders role in getting people to drive less
'Its purpose is to ensure that our multi-million dollar transportation plans, broadly speaking, get us where we need to go on climate change and reducing vehicle miles. Colorado and Minnesota have adopted similar requirements, which have successfully reoriented their transportation plans toward a responsible balance of investment in highway, public transit and active transportation projects,' Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem said of her legislation. 'We could do the same thing here together.'
The Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee on Wednesday heard the bill (S 2246) Creem filed to require the Department of Transportation to set goals for reducing the number of statewide driving miles, which would then be part of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' consideration of sector-specific emission limits. The legislation would also stand up an interagency coordinating council to come up with 'a whole-of-government plan to reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase access to transportation options other than personal vehicles,' according to Creem's summary.
Transportation is the sector that accounts for the greatest share of Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emissions, and Creem said the state's strategy for reducing those emissions 'has largely, although not exclusively, focused on electric vehicles.' Supporters said the environmental benefits of improved fuel economy and electric vehicle adoptions have largely been offset by a mostly steady rise in vehicle miles traveled; even though cars pollute less per mile, Americans are driving more miles than in previous decades.
Creem said electric vehicles 'are certainly a major piece of the puzzle,' but cautioned against over-reliance on any single decarbonization strategy for the transportation sector.
'With the Trump administration rolling back vehicle emission standards and withholding funds from EV charging programs, and with congressional Republicans looking to repeal EV tax credits and derail state-level EV rules, now is the time to pursue new strategies, additional strategies, for reducing transportation emissions,' the Senate majority leader said.
Two weeks ago, TUE Committee House Chair Rep. Mark Cusack said policymakers are reevaluating all of Massachusetts' climate and emissions mandates, plans and goals in light of changes in federal energy policy.
Massachusetts state government has committed to reducing carbon emissions by at least 50% compared to 1990 baselines by 2030, by at least 75% by 2040 and by at least 85% by 2050, with tag-along policies to get the state to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. The state also has numerous other mandates on the books, including around things like electric vehicles, and its long-range climate and energy plans acknowledge the need to reduce commuter vehicle miles driven.
Sen. Michael Barrett, the Senate co-chair of the TUE Committee, raised with supporters of Creem's bill the question of 'whether we're layering too many slightly disparate initiatives, one on top of another, in a way that is, in fact, going to complicate rather than clarify steps that need to be taken.'
Barrett pointed to transportation sector emission sublimits that are supposed to ratchet down over the coming decade and requirements for the MBTA to transition its bus fleet to be zero-emitting as examples that 'we do have a lot of provisions right now, enacted in either 2021-2022 or 2024, that correlate transportation spending and climate goals.'
The Lexington Democrat also noted what he called 'an unintended and subtle bias against rural Massachusetts,' where transit options are far more limited and people often live further from their workplaces.
'I understand that one can easily imagine that EVs, over time, will reduce the number of polluting vehicle miles traveled. But why we would want to start to pressure Massachusetts to reduce all miles traveled, polluting and non-polluting alike, does raise the question of what someone is to do in a place where one has to travel a long distance to a construction job or to any other source of employment,' Barrett said.
The senator added later, 'One of the questions I'm going to carry with me away from today's hearing is whether we really want to focus on reducing vehicle miles traveled, or whether that's too crude and somewhat off the point, and whether instead we want to reduce internal combustion engine vehicle miles traveled.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
15 minutes ago
- Politico
GOP lawmakers start to sweat redistricting
Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben President DONALD TRUMP's gambit to grow House Republicans' razor-thin majority through redistricting is starting to meet rare resistance from his own party. Two vulnerable GOP lawmakers — Reps. KEVIN KILEY of California and MIKE LAWLER of New York — are floating separate efforts to ban mid-decade redistricting as the Trump team's push for Texas Republicans to draw a more favorable map sets off a nationwide redistricting arms race. 'What's happening here is not popular among members in either conference,' Kiley told West Wing Playbook. 'I've talked to Republican members who are in states that could potentially benefit in the general political sense, but they don't like the idea of having their districts completely changed in the middle of the decade.' Lawler did not respond to a request for comment. Kiley filed a bill Tuesday aimed chiefly at stopping Democratic governors from retaliatory gerrymandering if Texas Republicans succeed in pushing through a new map that could net the GOP five seats in the midterms. Kiley and Lawler, both swing-district lawmakers, could feel the effects of Democratic redistricting. Lawler's seat, which has long been on Democrats' target list, would be among the districts where the party would try to stretch its advantage in the state. Kiley is also trying to prod Speaker MIKE JOHNSON and House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES to reach an agreement to stop the redistricting tit-for-tat in its tracks, though that appears unlikely. 'The onus is on the speaker to show some leadership here,' Kiley said. GREG STEELE, spokesperson for Johnson's political arm, said 'while these efforts remain at the state level, Speaker Johnson is focused on leading the fight to defend and grow the House Republican majority in any district come 2026.' But the legislative pushback also constitutes rare GOP opposition to the president, who stoked the flames of the redistricting fight Tuesday by saying that Republicans are 'entitled' to five more seats in Texas — even as a White House official told our JAKE TRAYLOR that Trump's team is taking 'a pretty hands-off approach' to the partisan battle they set in motion. Kiley suggested that Trump 'doesn't want to see the California congressional delegation upended, or the New York delegation or some of these other states,' though he said he hasn't spoken with the president on the matter. 'It seems to me he was not given full information about how exactly these things might play out,' Kiley added. A person close to the president granted anonymity to describe internal thinking said Trump's team isn't sweating Democrats' threats of retaliation. Democrats face steep obstacles to redistricting even in their best-case-scenario state of California, where Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM plans to call a special election and potentially spend massive sums to convince voters to return mapmaking power from an independent commission to lawmakers. And Republicans are starting to push for redistricting in states beyond Texas, including Missouri. 'Republicans have more opportunity than Democrats' to redraw maps, and 'Democrats' hurdles in the opportunities they claim to have are much higher, because Democrats have extreme gerrymandered maps in their favor everywhere they can,' the person said. The White House's power-protection play carries increasing political risk. As more Democratic governors vow to retaliate, BRENDAN STEINHAUSER, a Texas-based Republican strategist, warned the GOP's redistricting effort 'could backfire if there are enough Democratic seats out there and enough Democratic governors to redraw the maps in a way that ends up hurting Republicans nationwide.' Game out the chess match further and Republicans' machinations could complicate Trump's agenda in Washington. Trump has gotten nearly everything he's wanted from this GOP House. Even if Republicans hold the House next year, they could do so at the expense of some of those Trump-loyal members. 'It could become a real headache for Johnson, building a majority by sacrificing parts of the current majority,' said California-based GOP strategist ROB STUTZMAN. He added: 'What a shock Trump didn't think it through.' MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which president signed the nation's first federal income tax into law? (Answer at bottom.) WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT NOT A TAR HEEL: The director of Voice of America, MICHAEL ABRAMOWITZ, has been terminated after refusing to accept a demotion in North Carolina, according to court documents released Monday. JOHN ZADROZNY, a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA's parent company, said in a letter that Abramowitz's 'failure to accept a directed geographic reassignment warrants removal from your position for such cause as to promote the efficiency of the Federal service.' In July, acting USAGM CEO VICTOR MORALES notified Abramowitz that he was being reassigned to the VOA station in Greenville, North Carolina, and being given a new position. In his sworn declaration, Abramowitz said that the rationale for sending him to North Carolina 'does not make sense.' 'I understand that Defendants have indicated that they only plan to broadcast in four languages at VOA (Mandarin, Farsi, Pashto and Dari),' he wrote. 'But the Greenville station, which has historically provided shortwave radio broadcasts mainly to West Africa and Latin America, does not serve countries that speak any of those languages.' Abramowitz is the main plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the president issued an executive order dismantling USAGM. 'My efforts are not about holding onto a government job, but instead about upholding the rule of law and preserving the Voice of America, which is so important to the national security of the United States,' Abramowitz wrote in a message to VOA staff Monday. KARI LAKE, who serves as USAGM senior adviser, told West Wing Playbook that 'We're in good faith union negotiations. This is part of the process.' WE'RE HIRING: The National Weather Service has received permission to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians months after the agency faced sweeping DOGE-led cuts, CNN's ANDREW FREEDMAN reports. The new hiring number includes 126 new positions that will apply to 'front-line mission critical' personnel, a NOAA official told CNN. Musk Radar FIVE THINGS UNDONE: The White House today officially ended a program which required federal employees to summarize five weekly achievements in emails, our NICOLE MARKUS and Sophia report. The mandate was originally introduced in February by ELON MUSK as part of an effort to trim the federal workforce. Office of Personnel Management Director SCOTT KUPOR said in a statement that OPM informed agency leads that it would no longer 'manage' the process 'nor utilize it internally.' 'At OPM, we believe that managers are accountable to staying informed about what their team members are working on and have many other existing tools to do so,' Kupor said. Agenda Setting ZELDIN'S ON A HEATER: The EPA is preparing to terminate $7 billion in federal grants aimed at assisting low- and moderate-income families to install solar panels on their homes, NYT's MAXINE JOSELOW reports. The agency is drafting termination letters to 60 nonprofit groups and state agencies that received the grants under the 'Solar for All' program, with the goal of sending the letters by the end of this week. It's the latest move by the Trump administration to claw back billions of dollars in grants awarded under former President JOE BIDEN's Inflation Reduction Act. Representatives for the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REVERSING COURSE: Months after the Trump administration said it axed a multibillion-dollar grant program for disaster protection, administration officials said in a court document that it did not actually cancel the program, POLITICO's E&E News' THOMAS FRANK reports. In April, the administration canceled the grant program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, and removed all $4.1 billion from the BRIC account. But in a declaration last month for a court case challenging the move, FEMA acting administrator DAVID RICHARDSON said, 'FEMA has not ended the BRIC program, contrary to publicity otherwise.' He acknowledged his agency's role in that publicity, saying, 'Despite FEMA's public announcements … FEMA/DHS has not ended BRIC.' When presented with the declaration, even BRIC supporters struggled to understand it. 'The information that has been out so far seems to contradict [the declaration], and we want to make sure we're understanding FEMA's intention. This is happy news if this is the case,' said MARY JO FLYNN-NEVINS, head of governmental affairs for the International Association of Emergency Managers, which strongly supports the BRIC program. WHERE'S THE MONEY, LEBOWSKI? The investigative arm of Congress found that the National Institutes of Health illegally withheld funds lawmakers required it to spend, our ERIN SCHUMAKER reports. The Government Accountability Office today said that the Trump administration failed to follow the requirements of the Impoundment Control Act, which determines when a president can cancel funding appropriated by Congress. In implementing a communications pause earlier this year at HHS, and in complying with Trump's various executive orders, the 'NIH withheld funds from obligation and expenditure,' according to the GAO's report. The watchdog also found that HHS failed to inform Congress or the GAO of whether the money is being spent in another way. OUR LIPS ARE SEALED: Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH has banned officials at a missile defense conference in Alabama this week from discussing the president's favorite weapon system: the multibillion-dollar Golden Dome missile shield, our JOE GOULD and JACK DETSCH report. It follows new rules from the Pentagon that ban personnel from participating in think tank and research organization events. Hegseth's public affairs office told organizers of the Space and Missile Defense Symposium to keep the Golden Dome off the agenda. The Pentagon, when asked for comment, pointed to a July announcement about the creation of an office to oversee the missile shield's development. What We're Reading A Terrible Five Days for the Truth (The Atlantic's David A. Graham) 'Unlike Anything We've Seen': The Energy Industry is Counting on the AI Boom (POLITICO's Debra Kahn) A Look Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan Lair (NYT's David Enrich, Matthew Goldstein, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Steve Eder) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER President ABRAHAM LINCOLN signed the first federal income tax into law on this date in 1861 in a rush to finance the Civil War. Lincoln's tax imposed a 3 percent tax on annual incomes over $800.
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
DHS uses ‘South Park' image for recruitment ahead of ICE-themed episode
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday used imagery from 'South Park,' which had dedicated its season premiere to mocking President Trump, to encourage recruitment for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ahead of the show's next episode, which deals with Trump immigration enforcement. On the social platform X, the DHS account posted an image of the show's animation with several people loaded into a car labeled ICE. Several similar vehicles followed in the background, with one appearing to sound its siren. All the characters in the ICE vehicles were depicted wearing masks covering the lower halves of their faces. ' DHS wrote in the photo's caption, linking to the recruitment site. The DHS post came shortly after South Park released a teaser for its next episode, featuring an animation of a woman closely resembling DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. That character is depicted pointing a gun in the air, wearing a 'POLICE ICE' vest and posing in front of photographers. Noem has previously faced criticism for calling in the media during ICE-related operations. ''Got A Nut': When Mr. Mackay loses his job, he desperately tries to find a new way to make a living,' the South Park account posted on X, teasing the next episode, which is set to air Wednesday evening on Comedy Central and the next day on Paramount+. In a subsequent statement to Newsweek, DHS thanked the show for helping its recruitment efforts. 'We want to thank South Park for drawing attention to ICE law enforcement recruitment,' a DHS spokesperson said in the statement. 'We are calling on patriotic Americans to help us remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and other violent criminals from our country. Benefits available to new ICE recruits include an up to $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness, and retirement benefits. Apply today at the spokesperson continued. South Park's 27th season, which premiered two weeks ago, has targeted the White House and the president directly. In the debut episode this season, the show depicted Trump naked in bed with the devil and made fun of what the show depicted as small genitals. The season premiere poked fun at Trump for targeting his enemies and mocked media conglomerate Paramount over its recent settlement with the president, which came ahead of its merger with Skydance that required the approval of Trump's Federal Communications Commission. The season premiered just days after the creators of 'South Park,' Trey Parker and Matt Stone, reached a massive streaming deal with Paramount, valued at more than $1 billion.
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
Key Trump national security roles left vacant due to Dem obstruction — leaving US vulnerable to threats
WASHINGTON — Crucial national security jobs in the Trump administration have been left empty by Senate Democrats' obstruction while the White House focuses on installing US ambassadors — leaving America vulnerable to foreign threats, The Post has learned. At least 144 nominees were awaiting confirmation when the Senate broke for its August recess — including picks for senior positions at the State, Defense and Energy departments tasked with military readiness, nuclear issues and weapons of mass destruction. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), in line to take over as Chuck Schumer's No. 2 with the retirement of Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), initially placed a hold on more than 300 Trump nominees — a move one source familiar with the confirmation process described as 'payback' for the administration 'destroying USAID.' Advertisement 'Unprecedented Democrat obstruction against every single presidential nominee has left vital national-security positions vacant, even those tasked with preventing nuclear devices from falling into the wrong hands,' Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told The Post last week, demanding that the August recess be canceled. 7 President Trump's national security picks have had their confirmations delayed due to Democratic obstruction and a focus instead on installing US ambassadors, administration sources told The Post. AP 'While Chuck Schumer wants to neglect his responsibilities, President Trump continues to work hard from the White House on behalf of the American people,' said White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly. 'He has been clear that the Senate must confirm all of his nominees as quickly as possible.' Advertisement Notably, only around two dozen ambassador nominations are still pending on the Senate calendar, compared to more than 100 nominees for other executive branch roles. The White House notifies the Senate when it wants nominations to be voted on, and some administration sources have groused that the approach of ensuring ambassadors are confirmed first is akin to 'having an army of generals without soldiers.' 'It's vital to have these positions to secure regional stability, especially in our own hemisphere,' added another source close to the White House. 'But it's one of many issues at the moment.' 7 'Unprecedented Democrat obstruction against every single presidential nominee has left vital national-security positions vacant,' Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told The Post Friday, demanding that the August recess be canceled. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Advertisement While Trump has yet to nominate an assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security at the Pentagon, for example, US ambassador to Belgium nominee Bill White, a businessman and former Obama fundraiser, has leapfrogged to the front of the line for consideration. Several ambassadors were approved late last week before the Senate recess — including Louis Rinaldi, a longtime golfing buddy of Trump's, to be envoy to Uruguay; and fast food magnate Andrew Puzder, who donated more than $100,000 to help Republicans and the president's re-election campaign, to be US representative to the European Union, Of the more than a dozen ambassadors confirmed so far, at least half donated to Trump's campaign committees or PACs during the 2024 election cycle or so far in 2025. Others opened their pocketbooks after the president took office — and were confirmed in two months. Advertisement 7 Of the more than a dozen ambassadors confirmed so far, at least half donated to Trump's campaign committees or PACs during the 2024 election cycle or in 2025 — including UK and Northern Ireland ambassador Warren Stephens. Getty Images Warren Stephens, Trump's ambassador to the United Kingdom, donated nearly $400,000 to the RNC in February — a little more than a week after the Senate received his nomination. He was confirmed in a bipartisan 59-39 vote on April 29. US Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta gave $100,000 to the Republican National Committee on April 9, one month after his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was confirmed in a bipartisan 83-14 vote on April 29. Pending national security nominees include the State Department's Bureau of East Asian Affairs-designate Michael DeSombre, whose purview includes US policy on China. DeSombre's nomination was received in the Senate March 24, placed on its executive calendar June 5, and still hasn't received a vote. 7 Several ambassadors were approved late last week before August recess — including Louis Rinaldi, a golfing buddy of Trump's from New York, who was narrowly confirmed to be ambassador to Uruguay. Facebook/Trump National Golf Club Westchester Robert Kadlec, who helmed Trump's Operation Warp Speed and dug deep into the possible culpability of China's military experiments for the COVID-19 pandemic, was nominated in February for a similar role at the Pentagon — but hasn't made it out of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Gerald Parker, who reportedly helped craft the president's executive order banning gain-of-function research that officials and scientific experts have said could have started the COVID outbreak, was tapped to lead the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy but recently resigned. Advertisement Meanwhile, Adrienne Keen, the ex-director for global health security at the National Intelligence Council, who played a role in keeping critical evidence on COVID origins out of a 2021 briefing delivered to former President Joe Biden, remains employed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 7 Robert Kadlec, who helmed Trump's Operation Warp Speed and dug deep into the possible culpability of China's military experiments for the COVID-19 pandemic, was nominated in February but hasn't cleared committee vetting. Bloomberg via Getty Images The delays in filling administration posts have left experts in the field impatient. Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright said it was 'dismaying the Senate has moved so slowly on confirmation of key nominees for biosecurity positions. The foot-dragging puts US health security and US national security at risk.' Advertisement 'It is even more dismaying that Adrienne Keen, who actively participated in defrauding the public and policy makers about the origin of COVID, remains at the CDC. Keene needs to be terminated for cause forthwith,' added Ebright, who testified on the pandemic's origins before the Senate last year. 'National security should not be politicized,' added Atlantic Council fellow Alex Plitsas. 'If nominees are unqualified or not confirmable for valid reasons then they should be acted upon accordingly to ensure another qualified nominee is sent forward to the Senate for consideration as soon as possible to prevent critical vacancies. Otherwise, holding qualified nominees indefinitely for other reasons is detrimental to our national security.' 7 'It is even more dismaying that Adrienne Keen, who actively participated in defrauding the public and policy makers about the origin of COVID, remains at the CDC,' said Richard Ebright, a Rutgers University molecular biologist. A political appointee tracking website shows the pace of confirmations is roughly the same as under Biden and during Trump's first term — but far beneath that set by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Advertisement Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Republicans have considered adopting new procedural rules to quicken the process — including eliminating the cloture vote, shortening debate time for nominees down to two hours or voting on groups of nominations at once. 'Going back multiple administrations, both Democrats and Republicans, as recently as Bill Clinton, 98% of all the noms considered were handled either by voice [vote] or UC [unanimous consent] and it's just deteriorated over time to where Trump's, you know, we're at zero here,' Thune told The Post in an exclusive interview last week. 'It's got to be fixed,' he said. 'It certainly hamstrings, I think, the functioning of our government in a way that's really detrimental to the country.' Senate committees noted that the pace of their confirmations is ahead of where it was during the previous two presidential terms, without directly commenting on any of the stalled nominees. Advertisement 7 Democrats have been blocking final Senate approval, with Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii initially placing a hold on more than 300 Trump nominees. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 'As of July 30th,' a Senate Foreign Relations Committee spokeswoman said the panel, 'had passed 54 nominees, where the Biden Administration had only passed 18 at this point in the admin, and Trump 1.0 Administration had passed 24.' Of the 33 civilian leadership nominees advanced out of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at least 22 been confirmed, a spokesman for the panel added. The State Department, Pentagon, Department of Health and Human Services, and Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did spokespeople for Thune, Schumer or Schatz.
