As a Highway Trust Fund shortfall looms within weeks, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has proposed a remedy. Baucus introduced a bill on July 20 to inject $26.8 billion of new revenue into the trust fund. Of that total, $22 billion would go to the fund’s highway account and $4.8 billion to its transit account. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said the highway account needs a $20-billion infusion over the next 18 months, or DOT would have to slow reimbursements to states for highway-construction spending commitments they incur. LaHood has said the gap will start to
High-speed rail is red-hot. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has been flooded with proposals seeking a piece of the $8 billion it received for high-speed rail grants in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, the potential plans far outstrip DOT’s ARRA rail bank account. DOT’s Federal Rail-road Administration reported on July 16 it had received 278 rail-grant “pre-applications” totaling $102.5 billion. Some applicants may not win grants, but more money may be on the way. A House committee has recommended an additional $4 billion for high-speed rail in regular 2010 appropriations. Photo: California high speed rail authority California’s $40-billion
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has introduced a bill that would repair the looming revenue hole in the Highway Trust Fund. Baucus's bill, introduced July 20, would provide a total of $26.8 billion in new revenue for the trust fund, with $22 billion designed for the fund's highway account and $4.8 billion for its transit account. Photo: Senate Finance Committee Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (L) hopes to avert shortfall in trust fund. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said that the highway account will require a $20- billion infusion over the next 18 months, or DOT would have to
Demand for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants for high-speed rail far outstrips the $8 billion available. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration reported on July 16 that it had received 278 "pre-applications" for the rail grants, with applicants requesting a total of $102 billion. The department expects to award the first batch of economic-stimulus rail grants in the fall. In another sign of the red-hot interest in the fast trains, the House Appropriations Committee on July 17 included $4 billion for high-speed rail in its fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill. That quadruples the amount President Obama requested.
The Senate commerce committee has scheduled a vote July 21 on a two-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which includes an increase in airport construction grants, but makes no changes in the current aviation user-fee system. Photo: Office of Sen. Jay Rockefeller Chairman Rockefeller says bill would keep aviation user fees at current levels Related Links: House Passes Three-Year FAA Bill With Hike for Construction Funds The measure, introduced July 14 by Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), would authorize a total of $34.5 billion over the fiscal 2010-2011 period. Of that, FAA's Airport Improvement Program construction grants would receive $8.1
As reports grow of health problems and metal corrosion suspected of coming from U.S. imports of Chinese-made drywall, federal agencies are moving ahead on a multipronged investigation of the material. Initial results of laboratory and in-home tests are due in August and September. Photo: AP/Wideworld Chinese drywall suspected in health problems, metal corrosion in 21 states. The Consumer Product Safety Commission told Senate Appropriations Committee leaders on July 6 it has received 608 reports of Chinese drywall problems from 21 states and the District of Columbia. That is a sharp increase since May 21, when CPSC testified at a Senate
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved a bill that would extend the federal-aid highway program for 18 months, authorizing $61.5 billion over that period. The panel cleared the measure on July 15 by an 18-1 vote. Only Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) voted against it. Photo: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Majority Boxer kept bill "clean" of policy-related provisions The extension would begin on Sept. 30, when the current multi-year surface transportation bill--the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)--will lapse. It would keep authorizations at the fiscal 2009 levels, providing $41
The Senate has approved former Arizona Dept. of Transportation Director Victor M. Mendez as the new head of the Federal Highway Administration. Mendez, who was confirmed as FHWA Administrator on July 10, joined Arizona DOT (ADOT) in 1985 as a transportation engineer and in 2001 was named ADOT director. Photo: Arizona DOT Mendez led Arizona DOT from 2001 until February 2009 Related Links: Former Arizona DOT Chief Picked to Head FHWA He held the top ADOT post until February, when he and other state agency heads left when Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer [R] became governor. Mendez also played
As fiscal 2010 spending bills advance on Capitol Hill, water infrastructure programs look like big winners. The House’s 2010 bill for the U.S. Interior Dept. and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed on June 26 includes $5.2 billion for EPA water grants, a 76% jump from 2009’s mark. It also includes $2.3 billion for state clean-water spending, more than triple this year’s level, and $1.4 billion for state drinking-water funding, up 74%. The version the Senate Appropriations Committee cleared on June 25 is less generous but still well above 2009 totals. The measure recommends $4.95 billion for EPA water grants, including
Efforts to develop a magnetic levitation train system between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area could be affected by a pact between California and Nevada to extend a high-speed rail corridor between the cities. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Nevada Sen Harry Reid (D) announced the deal on July 2. Reid had endorsed high-speed rail over maglev in June. The pact calls for an 184-mile route from Las Vegas to Victorville, Calif., with speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. Maglev has operated in excess of 250 miles per hour in Europe and Asia. Reid says the
