John M. Krieger, Federal Transportation Policy Analyst, United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)
Biography provided by participant
John Krieger is a federal policy analyst for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a national federation of state-based public interest advocacy organizations. Based in Washington, D.C., Krieger organizes support both in and out of the Capitol for intelligent transportation funding policies that prioritize the public interest.
Krieger has testified as an expert witness on transportation policy before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He has spoken at press conferences and legislative briefings with members of Congress and has been quoted by the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, CNN and NPR.
Prior to joining U.S. PIRG, Krieger received a Master’s in International Law from American University, with a specialization in comparative constitutional law, and a law degree from the University of Richmond.
Earmarks are trophy-spending, clear and simple. The problem, from a public interest perspective, is that the interests who are fighting for these trophies use weapons that the public at large don't have in their arsenal. They use firms of six-figure lobbyists and campaign contributions to steer taxpayer money away from merit-based review and agency scrutiny, and in the mad scramble for this trophy spending, important public interest priorities - the ones that don't have K street on their payroll - are largely being ignored. In Greasing the Wheels, an upcoming report from US Public Interest Research Group, we looked… Read more
Mr. Roth, Thank you for your comments. In answer your inquiry, First, I don't think that we need to look to Europe or Tokyo to analyze what Americans are looking for in national transportation policy. We can stay right here in the states, where growth in transit ridership has been outpacing VMT for the last few years. According to a 2008 study from the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute: Despite the long history of auto-centric planning and financial subsidies, recent trends show that transit may be reestablishing a significant role in American metropolitan areas. National increases in vehicle miles of… Read more
To say that most Americans would reject transportation strategies that make it easier to drive less is naïve at best. But don’t take my word for it. Earlier this month, over 140 major national, state, and local organizations, with a collective membership somewhere in the millions, wrote to Congress to appeal for a new kind of transportation policy that makes it easier for Americans to drive less. (www.uspirg.org/uploads/sM/pK/sMpKponYMb87E1tYXtCp-Q/HR2724-letter-FINAL.pdf) These organizations, who represent a truly broad spectrum of politics and geography (I haven’t been in DC long, but long enough to recognize that a letter signed by Friends of the Earth,… Read more
Given the historic opportunity before Congress and the incoming administration to both meet urgent critical needs and to invest in long-term national priorities, the House transportation proposal represents a small step in the right direction where bold strides are needed. On one hand, money to modernize and expand public transportation networks will put thousands to work while reducing our nation's dependence on oil, traffic congestion, and global warming pollution. Also, accountability measures included in the proposal will go a long way toward eliminating fraud and abuse, but they will do little to ensure that the spending leads to a more… Read more
Biography provided by participant
