A Senate panel Wednesday approved Ray LaHood to be Secretary of Transportation, passing his nomination by President Obama to the full Senate, the New York Times reported.
LaHood, who just retired as a Republican congressman from Illinois, the panel he is committed to repairing U.S. bridges, roads and rail systems, Bloomberg reported.
“We cannot let the assets we inherited fall apart,” LaHood said in prepared testimony at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
LaHood also said he favors expanding transportation spending through tolls on new lanes and bridges but would shy away from imposing tolls on existing highways, Bloomberg reported. He also said he supported raising automobile emissions standards.
If confirmed by the full Senate, LaHood, a retired Republican congressman from Illinois, said he would make effective use of the funds available in $825 billion economic stimulus proposed by House Democrats, Bloomberg said, quoting LaHood.
Last week, highway and bridge projects were projected to receive about $30 billion from the proposed stimulus package.
