Remember the "fiscal cliff" and what a political fiasco that was? Well, a major political news and analysis website is predicting that dealing with the highway funding crisis in an election year is going to be just as bad.
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The Obama administration put down its marker for the next highway program with the GROW America Act, a $302 billion, four-year bill funded by a one-time infusion from a change in the corporate tax code. The House and Senate are working on their versions with no word yet on how they will pay for them, although the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing May 6: New Routes for Funding and Financing Highways and Transit.
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UPDATED -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Tuesday unveiled a long-term transportation bill he is sending to Congress for consideration as the House and Senate face looming deadlines to avoid the Highway Trust Fund running out of money this summer, but at least one part of it will likely draw controversy.
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Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., is a longtime supporter of raising federal fuel taxes to pay for highways and will float that idea with his colleagues as they draft the next highway bill. Carper sees a gradual fuel tax increase as a fiscally responsible approach to highway funding but is open to other ideas as well, according to his office.
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Anthony Foxx is on the road this week emphasizing the importance of infrastructure funding, with the Obama Administration concerned about the ability to pass a new long-term highway funding authorization before two key deadlines.
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Veteran transportation legislator Tom Petri, R-Wisc., will not run for reelection this fall. Rep. Petri is scheduled to make the announcement Monday afternoon at a town hall meeting in Neenah, Wisc.
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A bipartisan group of Senators has agreed on the outline of bill to reauthorize the federal highway program. The terms of the deal cover policy principles such as a long-term bill and maintaining existing programs but they do not cover the key question of how to pay for the program.
Read More →Public Private Partnerships will be part of the funding mix in the next highway program but the precise role they will play is not clear. Transportation legislators got a range of views from partnership experts in a Tuesday session before members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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A preliminary review by the Transportation Research Board indicates possible weaknesses in the Department of Transportation’s Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study. Opponents of higher limits seized on the review as evidence for their cause.
Read More →Hazardous materials carriers want Congress to change several regulations when it writes the next highway law. William Downey, executive vice president for Kenan Advantage Group, told legislators at a Wednesday hearing that Congress should tell the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration to withdraw its proposed wetlines rule.
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