Government

WASHINGTON — American consumers increased their spending by 1% in June — a dose of energy for an economy that is quickly rebounding from the pandemic recession but is facing new risks led by the delta variant of the coronavirus.

A vote in the U.S. Senate to launch debate on a comprehensive infrastructure bill and the passage of fiscal 2022 transportation funding in the House of Representatives coalesced to create an unofficial “infrastructure week” spearheaded by congressional funding proponents and the Biden White House.

Pennsylvania’s transportation funding panel has proposed gas-tax alternative options that include a doubling of vehicle registration fees, which a state trucking leader said would lead to interstate trucking companies registering their trucks in other states.

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted the night of July 28 to begin work on a nearly $1 trillion national infrastructure plan, acting with sudden speed after weeks of fits and starts once the White House and a bipartisan group of senators agreed on major provisions of the package that’s key to President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a $450,000 grant for Norfolk Terminal LP that will be used to improve goods movement at the facility.

President Joe Biden will ultimately decide whether foreign chip producers will receive some of the $52 billion in funding planned to help ease the shortage that has hammered manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.

MACUNGIE, Pa. — President Joe Biden pledged to increase investments in American companies and workforce training during a visit to the Mack Lehigh Valley Operations facility July 28. The trip anchored the White House’s “Made in America Week” campaign.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators reached agreement July 28 on a $1 trillion infrastructure package, with the Senate ready to begin consideration of a key part of the administration's agenda.

A federal judge on July 28 granted a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss criminal charges against former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood and two other former company executives, all of whom were scheduled to be retried early next year on charges related to a massive diesel fuel rebate scheme.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate’s freight committee called on the Biden administration, congressional colleagues and private industry stakeholders to enhance security operations following the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline.