Special Briefing on Transportation Opportunities & Challenges in the New Federalism

Affordability pressures, shifting federal priorities, and uncertainty around long-term funding have reshaped the transportation policy landscape in the U.S. For a discussion of how evolving federal-state-local relationships are redefining infrastructure investment, funding stability, and project delivery across the country, Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance convened a panel of leading transportation, finance, and policy experts for “Special Briefing on Transportation Opportunities & Challenges in the New Federalism” on March 26, 2026.

William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Public Finance Adviser at the Volcker Alliance, and Leslie Richards, Professor of Practice, City & Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design and former CEO of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), co-hosted the Special Briefing. 

The panel included 

• Eryn Hurley, Chief Government Affairs Officer, National Association of Counties
• Baye Larsen, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer, Moody's
• Robert Poole, Director of Transportation Policy and Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow, Reason Foundation
• Naomi Renek, former Senior Advisor on Federal Policy, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Lauren Schapker, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)

This briefing is the sixty-seventh in a series of sixty-minute online conversations on public finance featuring experts from the national research networks of the Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders. 

Special Briefings are made possible by funding from The Travelers Institute, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board. Recordings of the entire Special Briefings series are available on the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR websites. 

Be sure to subscribe to the Special Briefing podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio and more. 

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