WASHINGTON — Recent policies linked to electric vehicles are helping to address climate change and improve safety across mobility corridors, the nation’s top transportation officer told stakeholders on Jan. 11.

House Republicans chose Rep. Sam Graves to manage the affairs of the Transportation and Infrastructure panel during the 118th session of Congress.

Multiple failed attempts in the House of Representatives to solidify Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as the next Speaker of the House delayed the GOP caucus from kicking off its legislative agenda on time, as every official function in the chamber requires a signoff from the speaker.

Biden administration Cabinet secretaries Pete Buttigieg and Jennifer Granholm are headlining this year’s annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

An in-depth examination of the Biden administration’s funding priorities and policy proposals is expected to be the focus of House Republicans in leadership roles in 2023.

President Joe Biden during his State of the Union Address to Congress this year proclaimed that the United States was embarking on an “infrastructure decade,” setting the tone for the administration’s efforts to implement the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure law.

The Senate on Dec. 15 approved legislation to fund the government through Dec. 23 to avert a federal shutdown. The House approved this short-term bill Dec. 14, mostly along party lines. Federal funding authority was to have expired Dec. 16.

Legislation that would approve funding for water infrastructure projects around the country has been finalized, congressional transportation leaders announced this month.

Legislation that temporarily averts a partial shutdown of federal agencies this month would hinder transportation operations nationwide, said the top senator on the funding committee.

Shailen Bhatt was confirmed as the 21st administrator of the Federal Highway Administration by the U.S. Senate, the Department of Transportation announced Dec. 8.