Government
Transport Topics government and regulatory coverage keeps managers of a highly-regulated industry aware of the policy decisions that can shape their businesses. Covering both the legislative and regulatory aspects of policy-making, at both the state and national levels, the news in this category includes looks at infrastructure, hours of service, emissions rules, funding measures, leadership appointments, and more. Readers can follow what’s happening in Congress, at the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, and in state and local governments.
Sen. Fischer Proposes Infrastructure Bank Legislation
With less than two weeks before funding authority for transportation projects expires, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) on May 12 introduced legislation that would establish an infrastructure bank.
May 12, 2015Policymakers, Financiers Agree on Infrastructure Crisis, but Not on Funding Mechanisms
WASHINGTON — Policymakers and Wall Street veterans made pleas May 11 for greater investment in the nation’s infrastructure but acknowledged the stumbling block is still the same — how to pay for it.
P3s See Federal Inaction as Elevating Their Importance
WASHINGTON — The biggest challenges facing infrastructure public-private partnership proposals are in persuading public officials and taxpayers to accept some level of financial and possibly environmental risk, and in convincing public employees they won’t lose their jobs, a panel of P3 supporters said at a May 11 “Infrastructure Week” event.
Top T&I Dems Request Hearing on Long-Term Highway Bill
The top two Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are pressing the panel’s chairman and the chamber’s top tax policy authorizer to schedule a joint hearing very soon that focuses on a long-term highway bill.
VP Biden: Highway Funding Patch to ‘Hopefully, Occur Very Soon’
WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden said Congress will soon unveil a highway funding patch that ensures states continue to receive federal funding assistance after transportation funding authority expires at the end of the month.
DOT's Inspector General to Audit FMCSA Oversight of High-Risk Carriers
The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General is conducting an audit into concerns about the “timeliness and effectiveness” of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s reviews of carriers that pose a greater risk.
Secretary Foxx Tells Congress Time Is Running Out to Fix Highway Funding
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that while lawmakers focus on crafting a long-term transportation plan, his department is 20 days away from running out of its ability to use the “little bit of money we do have” to assist states with infrastructure.
Greg Nadeau Nominated to Be Administrator of FHWA
President Obama on May 8 nominated Greg Nadeau to be administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
Opinion: Nat-Gas Vehicles and Low Oil Prices
For light- and heavy-duty truck operators evaluating a switch to natural gas from diesel, the recent oil-price collapse represents the most significant “bump in the road” in several years.
May 11, 2015Supreme Court Won’t Hear Trucking’s Appeal of California’s Meal-Break Requirement
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals by two trucking companies that mounted challenges to a California law requiring employers to provide meal breaks to workers.
May 11, 2015