Jobs Bill Likely to Be Delayed in Senate (Wall Street Journal)
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday balked at Democratic efforts to push an economic stimulus measure through the chamber by the end of the week, making it likely that the Senate will wait at least until the week of Feb. 22 to vote on the roughly […]
Highway Bill Detoured (The Journal of Commerce)
Washington’s focus on jobs and search for revenue keep transportation bill parked in Congress
The drumbeat of jobs, jobs, jobs in Washington and debate on financing have become major roadblocks to getting a six-year $500 billion transportation bill into gear and onto a fast-paced road to passage.
Infrastructure advocates […]
Legislation would return interest earned to Highway Trust Fund (Journal of Commerce)
The House is expected to vote this afternoon on a trio of intertwined measures that will extend the Department of Transportation’s highway program at current budget levels, puts the Highway Trust Fund on a firmer financial footing, and allocates nearly $49 billion for infrastructure […]
LaHood: Ban lobbyists, earmarks in second stimulus (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — The latest government effort to create jobs should have the same tough restrictions on lobbyists and lawmakers’ pet projects as the $787 billion stimulus plan did, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.
LaHood is the first official to say whether the administration wants to replicate the […]
House Approves Conference Report for FY 2010 Transportation Spending (AASHTO Journal)
After months of delay, the House of Representatives approved Thursday the conference report for the Fiscal Year 2010 transportation appropriations bill. The report would greatly increase spending for the U.S. Department of Transportation, kill a proposed national infrastructure bank, provide new funding for high-speed […]
Federal Highway & Transit Programs Due to Expire Next Week (AASHTO Journal)
Congress took no action this week to extend authorization of federal surface transportation programs, meaning only a week remains before highway and transit spending authority expires.
The last multiyear surface transportation authorization, a 2005 law known as “SAFETEA-LU,” expired Sept. 30. Congress has […]
Putting the Cart Before the Horse (Newsweek)
Could a transportation-based jobs stimulus stymie infrastructure reform?
When the Interstate 35 bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul collapsed nearly two and a half years ago, killing 13 people, the unsexy issue of infrastructure maintenance seemed ready to have its political moment. The nation’s crumbling road system needed an […]
Ad campaign calls for action on highway bill (Pit & Quarr)
As President Obama prepared to hold a national jobs summit on Dec. 3, 28 national associations and labor groups of the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) launched a new multi-media ad campaign calling on Congress and the administration to create thousands of long-term, sustainable American jobs […]
Sec. LaHood: Gas tax likely to see debate in Congress soon (The Hill)
A federal gas tax hike is likely to appear on lawmakers’ radars again this year as they search for new ways to fund the country’s transportation programs, the department’s secretary suggested on Monday.
During a summit in Fort Worth, Texas, Transportation chief Ray LaHood […]
Contractors Pessimistic on 2010 Prospects Unless Long-Term Bill Enacted (AASHTO Journal)
A report issued late last week emphasized that many transportation contractors have laid off employees this year and a lot more job cuts are likely to take place in 2010 unless Congress enacts a robust authorization bill for highways, bridges, transit, and safety projects. […]
