By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Congress extended the current highway program for two months, again postponing action on comprehensive reform of the nation's deteriorating infrastructure system.

The continuing resolution, good until Feb. 28, 2010, passed as part of the 2010 Defense Appropriations measure.

Reauthorization of the federal highway program, which was due to have been completed by last October, has been shunted aside due to congressional focus on health care reform and the difficulty of finding the political will to address the critical funding issue.

The consensus among transportation experts is that a fuel tax increase will be necessary to pay for needed improvements, but both the Senate and the White House have resisted this idea. The House has the outline of a comprehensive reform package, drafted by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, that includes a proposal for an eventual fuel tax increase.





Government/Regulations: Related News

2/15/2012 - Nearly 70 Transportation Associations Sign Letter Opposing Tolls
Sixty-eight transportation associations signed a letter to the Senate opposing the use of tolls on the U.S. Interstate Highway System in the Senate's version of the Surface Transportation Bill (S. 1813).... More >

2/15/2012 - ATA Suing to Overturn Hours of Service Rule
American Trucking Associations is suing to overturn the new hours of service rule. ATA is asking the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to set aside the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule as arbitrary and capricious.... More >

2/14/2012 - FMCSA Plans a Third Proposal to Answer EOBR Questions
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration decided to take a step back from its pending electronic onboard recorder rules and begin a supplemental process to resolve legal and technical problems.... More >

2/13/2012 - New York DMV to Waive Road Tests for Veterans Applying for CDLs
As part of his "Experience Counts" campaign to help returning veterans get jobs in New York State, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo implemented two initiatives, one of which waives commercial driver's license road tests for veterans with qualifying driving experience.... More >

2/7/2012 - Senate to Vote on Highway Funding Proposal
Today the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on revenue provisions to supplement the Highway Trust Fund and pay for the Senate's proposed highway bill.

Passage of the measure will put in place a key provision for the Senate's plan to reauthorize the federal highway program with a $109 billion, two-year bill. The House, meanwhile, is working on a $260 billion, five-year bill. ... More >

2/6/2012 - House Highway Bill Clears Committee on Party-Line Vote
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee did its job last week, reporting out a bill that would reauthorize the federal transportation program for five years at current funding levels. It was a squeaker, though, and the outlook for Congress finishing the job before the current program expires on March 31 is not rosy.... More >

2/3/2012 - House Panel Kills Truck Weight Increase
An increase in federal truck size and weight limits did not survive a House committee vote yesterday. Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 33 to 22
to study the increased limit, rather than actually increasing it.... More >

2/2/2012 - House Highway Bill Challenges Hours of Service Restart Provision
In the House highway bill unveiled yesterday, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., finally revealed what he meant when he said he will challenge the new hours of service rule. The bill could force the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to rewrite the 34-hour restart provision of the rule, which limits the restart to once a week with two sleep periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.... More >

2/1/2012 - House Highway Bill Would Allow Heavier Trucks
The House of Representatives yesterday unveiled its version of a new highway program that would spend $260 billion over five years. The bill trims the Department of Transportation by consolidating or eliminating programs, gives states a greater say in how they spend federal money and speeds up the project approval process.... More >

1/31/2012 - EPA Sets Penalties for Emissions Non-Compliance
Navistar Inc. may have to pay penalties of up to $1,900 per engine if it cannot meet heavy diesel emission standards, according to a new Environmental Protection Agency rule.... More >

1/30/2012 - Hours of Service: Did FMCSA Find a Sweet Spot?
Almost no one is happy about the new hours of service rule. Maybe that means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made the moves that will lead to stability, at long last.

Or maybe not.... More >

1/30/2012 - BTS Releases Interactive State Transportation Facts and Figures
The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics released State Transportation Facts and Figures, an interactive web transportation mapping application that allows customers to find and download state-by-state transportation data, comparisons and rankings.... More >

1/26/2012 - Carriers Responding to New Health Care Costs
More than 80% of carriers report that recent health care changes will adversely affect them, according to the recent fourth quarter national Business Expectations Survey by Transport Capital Partners.... More >

1/26/2012 - FMCSA Clarifies Push-to-Talk Guidance
FMCSA released updated FAQs on its new handheld mobile telephone ban to clarify that the use of the push-to-talk function on mobile phones is permitted, under certain limited conditions.... More >

1/26/2012 - House Readies Highway Bill
House Republicans will introduce a highway bill next week, said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Mica's announcement followed President Obama's call in his State of the Union address for funding the highway program with money not spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.... More >

1/23/2012 - Judge Rejects Navistar Bid for SCR Engine Recall
A federal judge rejected Navistar's bid to have the Environmental Protection Agency recall 2010 engines that use selective catalytic reduction to meet emission standards.

The judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said Navistar's arguments for the recall are not persuasive and dismissed the case.... More >

1/19/2012 - Measure Would Allow Truckers to Go 75 mph in Idaho
A senator in northern Idaho wants to allow truckers to drive 75 mph in the state. The current speed limit for semis in Idaho is 65 mph while cars are allowed to drive 75 mph.... More >

1/19/2012 - Booz Allen: America Needs to 'Reimagine' Infrastructure
As the nation prepares for Obama's 2012 State of the Union address, Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and technology consulting firm, outlined items it says should be included in any discussion about the country's aging infrastructure.... More >

1/19/2012 - Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Proposal
President Obama announced that his administration is rejecting the controversial proposal for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, which would have transported 700,000 barrels of oil daily from Canada, Montana and the Dakotas to U.S. refineries in Houston.... More >

1/18/2012 - CSA BASIC Fact Sheets Available on the Web
The Compliance, Safety, Accountability(CSA) program released a new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) fact sheet series on its website.... More >

1/18/2012 - ATRI Updates Online Idling Regulations Compendium
The American Transportation Research Institute has updated the list of idling regulations, both state and local, on its website, atri-online.org.... More >

1/16/2012 - Minnesota Governor Addresses Infrastructure Problems With New Task Force
The day after announcing a $775 million jobs plan for Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton announced plans to establish the Commissioner's Transportation Finance Advisory Group, a task force that will be responsible for recommending new ways to finance a better state infrastructure.... More >

1/16/2012 - NC Opens More Roads to Doubles
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will now allow the operation of double-trailer combinations on several freeway routes in the eastern part of the state plus the Triangle area.... More >

1/12/2012 - TRALA-Supported Virginia Legislation Addresses Motor Vehicle Rental Tax
Delegate James Massie (R-Henrico) has introduced Virginia legislation, sponsored by the Truck Renting and Leasing Association, that would limit the types of revenue taxed under the commonwealth's 10% motor vehicle rental tax.... More >

1/11/2012 - New Jersey Assemblyman Alex DeCroce dies at 75
New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader Alex DeCroce, 75, died suddenly late Monday night at the Statehouse, just after the 214th Legislature held its final voting session.... More >

1/9/2012 - FMCSA Reminds Carriers to Update VMT, Power Unit Data
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reminding commercial motor carriers they they need to update their Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and Power Unit (PU) data on their Motor Carrier Registration form, known as the MCS-150.... More >

1/6/2012 - NY Crossover Mirror Law Effective Friday, Jan. 13
A New York law requiring trucks to have crossover mirrors will go into effect next Friday, Jan. 13.... More >

1/6/2012 - In State of the State, Cuomo Reveals Plans to Better NY Roads and Bridges
In Gov. Cuomo's state of the state address yesterday, he introduced a plan for the New York Works Fund and Task Force, an entity that would make all the funding decisions for roads, bridges, parks, flood control and municipal water systems.... More >

1/3/2012 - Former FMCSA Supervisor Jailed for Accepting Bribes
A DOT official in New York State was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony bribe-taking.... More >

1/3/2012 - Cell Phone Restrictions Now in Effect
Interstate truck and bus drivers are prohibited from using handheld cell phones while driving as of today, Jan. 3, under a final rule posted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.... More >