Mica Optimistic on Long-Term Transport Bill

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, told a group of shippers attending a Washington legislative policy forum Tuesday that he plans to get a long-term transportation reauthorization bill on the House floor sometime in May.

But most of the shippers, policy wonks and Congressional insiders attending the National Industrial Transportation League’s forum seemed skeptical.

Several House and Senate staffers speaking at the forum said they were fast at work on legislation that would involve some deep cuts for transportation programs, and hoped to get it to their respective committee chairs something in the next month-and-a-half.

But they weren’t making any promises that legislation would clear Congress before the 2012 political season gets into full swing, a time when “politics trumps courageous policymaking,” one staffer said.

Three of four speakers on one of the NITL panels said they doubted Congress would approve a six-year reauthorization bill by the end of the year.