• Silver Spring Transit Center’s inspectors ran poor concrete tests, report says
  March 26, 2013 (Washington Post) — The firm hired by Montgomery County to perform field inspections on the Silver Spring Transit Center improperly tested the strength of concrete, apparently failed to measure its thickness and didn’t raise sufficient concerns when the concrete started to crack, according to independent engineers and county officials. Read the full story.
  

• Old tax, new fees among options for highway funding
  June 6, 2013 (Politico) — The next highway and transit bill might be more than a year away, but a string of major infrastructure failures has lawmakers and advocates already thinking about how to boost funding. Read the full story.
  

• Obama to Nominate Anthony Foxx as Transportation Secretary
  April 28, 2013 (Reuters) — President Barack Obama plans to nominate on Monday Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx to be his next transportation secretary, a White House official said on Sunday. Read the full story.
  

• Obama wants $50B for roads, $40B for rail, MAP-21 extension in 2014 budget
  April 10, 2013 (The Hill) — President Obama's 2014 budget proposal calls for Congress to approve $50 billion in immediate spending on U.S. highways and $40 billion on long-distance railways. Read the full story.
  

• Deficit-Reduction Talks May Fuel Gas Tax Increase
  December 6, 2012 (Fed Watch) — Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will try to introduce a new surface transportation bill at the very onset of 2014, according to a committee aid who outlined the expected timeline of the legislation. Read the full story.
  

• Raise Gas Taxes, Avoid the Fiscal Cliff?
  November 27, 2012 (U.S. News and World) — A group of natural gas and oil organizations sent a letter to members of Congress Tuesday morning, urging them to think twice before leveling any tax increases on the industry as part of fiscal cliff negotiations. Read the full story.
  

• WHY IT MATTERS: Creaky bridges, potholed roads, tricky politics
  October 23, 2012 (Washington Post) — From bridges to broadband, America’s infrastructure is supposed to be speeding along commerce, delivering us to work and piping energy and water into our homes and businesses. But just repairing all the breakdowns and potholes would cost tens of billions more than we’re currently spending each year. Read the full story.

• MDOT worker: Michigan needs more transparency in awarding state contracts to private firms
  August 13, 2012 (Michigan Live) -- GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Contractors often are employed by government agencies looking to pare down costs during rough economic times. John Eck would tell a different tale.  Eck, a technician with the Michigan Department of Transportation and member of the Service Employees International Union Local 517M, argued in an editorial submitted to MLive.com that contractors can wind up costing the state more than its own workers would. Read the full story.
  

• Rahm Emanuel's Chicago Plan For Infrastructure Wins Thumbs Up From Mayors
  July 23, 2012 (Huffington Post) -- In a Friday news release, Michael Nutter, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and mayor of Philadelphia, applauded the Chicago Infrastructure Trust for "looking outside the box" for ways to finance transportation improvements. The trust, passed in April by the Chicago City Council, seeks to secure $1.7 billion from private investors to modernize what Mayor Rahm Emanuel has deemed the city's "crumbling infrastructure." Read the full story.
  

• State's Suit Against Designer of 35W Bridge to go Forward
  May 29, 2012 (Minneapolis Star Tribune) -- The state's lawsuit against the designer of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge can proceed, officials learned Tuesday. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by California-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., linked to the 1960s design of the bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007, killing 13 and injuring 145. Read the full story.
  

• House to Vote on Recommending a 31 Percent Cut in Transportation Funding
  June 1, 2012 (Transportation Issues Daily) -- The House has postponed a vote on a provision that would instruct its transportation bill negotiators to insist on reducing funding by nearly 31 percent. It will impact negotiations regardless of the outcome. Read the full story.
  

• Transportation conferees begin talks
  May 7, 2012 (Politico) -- Conferees are convinced this will be a “real conference” in which most issues won’t have to go to leadership, as was the case with parts of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. Read the full story.
  

• Senate approves 90-day highway extension; sending measure to President Obama
  March 29, 2012 (The Hill) -- The Senate approved the extension of federal highway funding that was passed by the House Thursday, accepting a short-term solution leaders in the chamber vehemently opposed.  Read the full story.
  

• House approves 90-day highway bill, dares Senate to reject it
  March 29, 2012 (The Hill) -- The House on Thursday morning approved a 90-day extension of federal highway programs over the objections of angry Democrats, a move that dares Senate Democrats to reject the bill just days before federal authorization expires.  Read the full story.
  

• Fight over transportation bills threatens highway projects
  March 27, 2012 (CNN) -- With just four days left before the federal money runs out for highway construction projects across the country, House Republicans abruptly postponed a vote on a two-month extension Tuesday, throwing into question how a standoff between Senate Democrats and House Republicans over the transportation bill will get resolved.  Read the full story.
  

• Extending SAFETEA-LU, Not Passing Multi-Year Bill, is Now Focus of Congress
  March 18, 2012 (Transportation Issues Daily) -- Congress will now turn its focus to extending SAFETEA-LU (which expires on March 31) and temporarily ignore passing a multi-year bill. No version of the House proposal or the Senate bill is scheduled for action this week or next week. The House has scheduled other legislation for action this week, and next week will be focused on 2013 budget issues.  Read the full story.
  

• Senate Transportation Bill Passes With Bipartisan Support 
  March 14, 2012 (Huffington Post) -- The Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion bipartisan transportation bill in a 74-22 vote Wednesday, handing Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) significant bragging rights in the race to pass election-year job-creation legislation. Now all eyes turn to the House of Representatives and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has struggled to bring his own caucus to terms on a highway bill.  Read the full story.
  

• Transportation Experts Say Its Time To Replace, Or Supplement, Fuel Taxes 
  November 22, 2011 (CNN) -- Drivers often forget that they pay for highway construction and maintenance through federal fuel taxes: 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. "The notion that the road has ever been free is sort of a self-delusion," said Neil. But the fuel tax is running out of steam, experts warn, because more efficient vehicles are using less fuel and rising fuel prices discourage driving. As tax revenue falls, so does the nation's ability to pay for road construction and maintenance.  Read the full story.
  

• Obama Signs USDOT Funding into Law; Highway Limit Reduced Almost $2 Billion 
  November 18, 2011 (AASHTO Journal) -- President Barack Obama signed into law today a spending package that Congress passed Thursday, which includes Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Read the full story.
  

• Long road for highway bill
  November 9, 2011 (Politico) -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is set to mark up a two-year highway and transit bill Wednesday morning, and it should be a breeze. What happens after the markup is the big question.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Boehner: House Will Move Multiyear Bill by Year's End
  November 4, 2011 (AASHTO Journal) -- House Republicans will introduce a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill "in the coming weeks" and "hope to move the legislation through the House before the end of the year," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Thursday. The bill would expand domestic energy production to pay for transportation infrastructure, with funding levels likely to be at or above current levels.  Read the full story.
  

• Senate Blocks $60 Billion Infrastructure “Jobs Bill”; GOP Counters
  November 3, 2011 (Transportation Nation) -- The Senate blocked a politically-charged $60 billion infrastructure bill Thursday, continuing the partisan stand-off over transportation and jobs.  Read the full story.
  

• Senate to block competing infrastructure plans
  November 3, 2011 (Associated Press) -- President Barack Obama's campaign-style drive for another batch of economic stimulus spending is facing defeat yet again at the hands of Republicans in the Senate.  Read the full story.
  

• Mica Defends Spending Level of Transport Plan 
  November 2, 2011 (Journal of Commerce) -- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) defended his six-year transportation plan from accusations that the bill wouldn’t maintain current funding levels as he claimed.  Read the full story.
  

• Representative Hoyer pushes back on GOP highway bill claims
  October 25, 2011 (The Hill) -- House Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) pushed back on Republican efforts to paint their version of a new federal highway bill as a "jobs bill" even as President Obama chides GOP lawmakers for not quickly approving his transportation spending measure.  Read the full story.
  

• Governor Snyder to Propose Gas Tax Change
  October 25, 2011 (wilx.com) -- The Michigan Governor will propose eliminating the state's 19 cent per gallon fuel tax in favor of a new tax on the wholesale price of gas during a planned speech Wednesday.  Read the full story.
  

• State agency paid consultants $1 billion for road projects
  October 22, 2011 (TheSunNews.com) -- The South Carolina Department of Transportation has paid consultants $1 billion to design roads, bridges and perform other tasks during the past 25 years – instead of doing the work itself, records show.  Read the full story.
  
  

• GOP pitches transportation bill as jobs program 
  October 24, 2011 (Associated Press) -- House Republicans are pitching a six-year transportation construction plan as a major jobs bill that can win bipartisan approval before next year's election, a key GOP lawmaker said Monday.  Read the full story.
  

• Transportation's future a rocky road
  October 24, 2011 (Politico) -- Transportation experts said the federal highway and transit program needs two big changes — major systemic reforms and a large increase in funding. Problem is, you can’t have one without the other.  Read the full story.
  

• Transportation lobby hopes for new stimulus
  September 28, 2011 (Politico) -- The transportation construction lobby — not exactly the sexiest special interest in Washington — is nonetheless primed to pave Capitol Hill with an aggressive campaign aimed at scoring what could be a massive stimulus for the struggling industry.  Read the full story. 
  
  

• Obama signs highway funding, FAA extension
  September 16, 2011 (The Hill) -- After an unexpected second round of congressional squabbling over funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and highway programs, President Obama has signed the bill passed by lawmakers this week to extend both through next year.  Read the full story. 
   

• Coburn, Reid continue their fight on Senate floor over FAA, highway funding
  September 15, 2011 (The Hill) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on Wednesday evening continued their fight over a bill that would extend the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration beyond Friday, with each saying the other could end the impasse that threatens to force another round of furloughs at the beleaguered agency. Read the full story.
  
  

• House Prepares to Vote on Extension
  September 13, 2011 (DC Streets Blog) -- In a couple of hours, the House will vote on the transportation extension bill – under unanimous consent rules. That means a single vote in opposition could delay passage. Read the full story.
  
  

• House and Senate Agree on 6-Month Transportation Extension
  September 12, 2011 (DC Streets Blog) -- Just days after a Senate committee asked the full chamber to consider a four-month extension of SAFETEA-LU, new negotiations have replaced that idea with a six-month extension at current spending levels. The bill also extends the gas tax.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Boxer Files Highway Trust Fund Extension
  September 6, 2011 (Journal of Commerce) -- Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, filed legislation extending Highway Trust Fund programs until the end of the year, heeding President Obama’s call for “clean” extensions of critical transportation funding programs.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Why Might a SAFETEA-LU Extension Be Delayed?
  September 5, 2011 (Transportation Issues Daily) -- The federal highway/transit bill expires at midnight September 30.  If political differences prevent result in the legislation expiring (presumably for only a short period of time), thousands of private sector construction workers could be furloughed as highway and transit projects across the country are shut down.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Obama Pushes Transportation Bills
  August 31, 2011 (Politico) -- President Barack Obama called Wednesday for Congress to quickly pass bills to continue funding highways and air travel, saying it would be “unacceptable” and “inexcusable” for Washington politics to lead to the loss of as many as a million jobs.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Hurricane Irene Exposes Creaky American Infrastructure
  August 30, 2011 (Huffington Post) -- In the winter of 1992, a nor'easter sent a storm surge over the floodwall guarding the southern tip of Manhattan. Seawater quickly overwhelmed major roadways and New York City's subway system, shutting down the entire subway for nearly 10 days.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Boxer Expected to Push Highway Programs Extension
  August 22, 2011 (Journal of Commerce) -- Sen. Barbara Boxer, whose Environment and Public Works Committee takes the lead in drafting surface transportation legislation, is expected to propose extending current highway and transit programs so they do not expire September 3.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Congress Will Need to Address Transportation Legislation, Gas Tax After Recess
  August 22, 2011 (NLC.org) -- With Congressional leaders at home for the August recess and unemployment numbers still high, advocates are stepping up the pressure for action on a new transportation bill that will put people back to work and get the economy moving.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Legislative Prospects for the Transportation Bill: An Update
  August 22, 2011 (Infrastructure USA) -- The continuing stalemate over FAA funding offers a foretaste of what awaits us in September when Congress will get down to discussing the transportation bill. Only the stakes will be much higher and the consequences of a deadlock much more serious. That is the sober assessment offered by seasoned Washington observers on both sides of the political divide.  Read the full story.
  
  

• White House Wants To Jump-Start Highway Bill
  August 20, 2011 (NewsCore) -- The White House and congressional Democrats are working on a plan to jump-start passage of a stalled highway bill as the administration reworks part of its strategy for responding to high unemployment, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Transportation deadlock worries states 
  August 17, 2011 (Stateline.org) -- When federal lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next month, one of their first assignments will be the normally routine task of finding money for better roads and rails. But given Congress’ recent track record of letting seemingly mundane matters build to a crisis, transportation experts are keeping a wary eye on Washington.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Obama: Tell Congress to 'get past differences and send me' highway bill
  August 11, 2011 (The Hill) -- Voters in Michigan and other states should pressure Congress to pass a federal highway bill, President Obama said Thursday during a speech at a car battery plant in Michigan.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Gas-tax issue could be the next political fight
  August 9, 2011 (The Hill) -- After watching a two-week shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration, transportation advocates and congressional staffers are concerned that the federal gas tax could become the next confrontational issue that Democrats and Republicans push to the brink.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Threat to End Federal Fuel Taxes Concerns Transportation Officials
  August 9, 2011 (Transport Topics) -- Faced with the expiration in September of federal transportation taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, highway advocates say they are increasingly worried that the anti-tax, anti-government rancor that characterized the debt ceiling battle could endanger the nation’s transportation system.  Read the full story. 
  
  

• Reid: Senate should act on highway bill after break
  August 2, 2011 (Reuters) -- The Senate should take up legislation laying out how much money the country will spend on roads, bridges and highways when it returns from its month-long recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.  Read the full story.
  
  

• Debt Deal Could Mean More Painful Cuts for Transportation
  August 1, 2011 (StreetBlogs.org) -- The House and Senate are getting close to voting on a deal, reached over the weekend, to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending.  Read the full story.

   

• How Might Transportation Funding be Impacted by Debt Deal?

  August 1, 2011 (Transportation Issues Daily)  -- Whether by the hands of the new fiscal commission or through the alternative automatic cuts, federal transportation funding is going to decline dramatically compared to recent years.  The Senate transportation proposal, which counted on a $12 billion infusion of general funding, suddenly looks just a little less attainable.  So too is the prospect of a better-funded bill in two years, if Congress doesn’t pass a bill this year.  Read the full story.

   

• What does the debt ceiling deal mean for transportation?
  August 1, 2011 (Transportation for America) -- With just hours to spare before the deadline, the House, Senate and President Obama have agreed (in principle) on an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. While the details of that agreement are circulating in the media, the implications for the ongoing efforts to reauthorize the transportation bill — as well as funding for current programs over the next year or two — are a bit murky.  Read the full story.

   

• House GOP expected to ax transportation funds
  July 5, 2011 (Washington Post) -- The next flash point in the debate over the nation’s will to live within its means may emerge this week as House Republicans present a long-term transportation bill expected to cut funding for highways and mass transit by almost one third. Read the full story.
   

• DOT Outsourcing Costs Taxpayers Millions - Private Contractors Tapped As Number Of State Engineers Declines
  May 25, 2011 (Channel3000.com) -- The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is spending millions of dollars on outside contractors when even state officials admit the work can be done cheaper by state employees.  Read the full story.
   

• LaHood: Administration Not in Favor of Taxing Drivers by the Mile
  May 25, 2011 (CNSNews.com) --Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was adamant in telling CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the Obama administration does not favor tracking and taxing Americans for every mile they drive--a so-called Vehicular Miles Traveled (VMT) tax.  Read the full story.

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