House to Hold Hearing on Highway Bill

The debate on a new surface transportation authorization bill will kick off Jan. 14 at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Called “Building the Foundation for Surface Transportation Reauthorization,” the hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Capitol Hill.

The current authorization law, which sets the spending levels for federal highway construction and maintenance programs, as well as safety regulations governing trucking, expires Sept. 30.

That two-year law, MAP-21, was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2012.

Mary Phillips, former director of legislative affairs for American Trucking Associations, said the writing of the new law probably will begin in earnest with the hearing held by the committee, headed by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).

“I think that will be the kickoff, the first of two or three hearings,” Phillips said.