Congress Kicks off Session

The 113th session of the U.S. Congress started at noon Thursday, with party dynamics staying unchanged from the last session, and some new leadership in transportation-related committees.

The Senate welcomed 13 new members who were elected in November, while the House saw 82 new members. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) remains speaker of the House, and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is still Senate majority leader.

House Republicans chose Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) last month to be chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, succeeding Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who left the post due to a term limit.

Shuster said last month that he plans to explore a variety of options to solve the current federal highway funding problem, including higher diesel and gasoline taxes and more tolling.

Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) remains the ranking member of the transportation committee.

Mica has attained a spot on the new government operations subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced Wednesday.

The two Senate committees with transportation oversight are keeping their Democratic leadership from the last session. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, while Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) will lead the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Boxer’s panel is focused on infrastructure while Rockefeller’s oversees other transportation issues such as safety.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is the ranking member at EPW, after Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was made ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Republican leaders have not named a ranking member for Commerce, after Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) retired.