President Obama has sent nomination papers to the Senate for two Department of Transportation officials who have been serving as acting heads in leadership posts at the department.

The American Transportation Research Institute has launched a confidential survey to update its 2013 Operational Costs of Trucking report.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved a six-year, $265 billion highway reauthorization bill that makes freight a core element within the federal highway program.

The top transportation policy writers in the Senate said they would introduce a six-year transportation bill May 12 and scheduled the bill’s committee consideration for May 15, more than two weeks after the Obama administration unveiled its four-year proposal.

The top transportation authorizer in the Senate said she would unveil a long-term transportation bill May 8, responding to concerns raised by industry and government officials over a dwindling federal highway account that supports infrastructure projects.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will make his first congressional appearance next week since unveiling a four-year, $302 billion transportation proposal this week, in an effort to press lawmakers to advance a transportation bill this year.

The American Transportation Research Institute issued a technical memorandum criticizing a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that endorsed the agency’s new restart provision of hours of service that took effect in July.