What Obama's campaign literature says about Smart Growth:
III. STRENGTHEN OUR OIL SECURITY AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
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Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities: Over the longer term, we know that the amountof fuel we will use is directly related to our land use decisions and development patterns, much ofwhich have been organized around the principle of cheap gasoline. Barack Obama believes that wemust move beyond our simple fixation of investing so many of our transportation dollars in servingdrivers and that we must make more investments that make it easier for us to walk, bicycle and access ther transportation alternatives.
- Reform Federal Transportation Funding: As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate thetransportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account.Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan PlanningOrganizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads andsidewalks, and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projectsacross the country. Building more livable and sustainable communities will not only reduce theamount of time individuals spent commuting, but will also have significant benefits to air quality,public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Require States to Plan for Energy Conservation: Current law simply asks governors and their stateDepartments of Transportation to “consider” energy conservation as a condition of receivingfederal transportation dollars. As president, Obama will require governors and local leaders in ourmetropolitan areas to make “energy conservation” a required part of their planning for theexpenditure of federal transportation funds
- Level Employer Incentives for Driving and Public Transit: The federal tax code rewards driving towork by allowing employers to provide parking benefits of $205 per month tax free to theiremployees. The tax code provides employers with commuting benefits for transit, carpooling orvanpooling capped at $105 per month. This gives drivers a nearly 2:1 advantage over transit users.Obama will reform the tax code to make benefits for driving and public transit or ridesharing equal.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/pdf/EnergyFactSheet.pdf
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