ENR Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief Tom Ichniowski caught up with former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on June 29 to ask him what Congress may do to fix the Highway Trust Fund's problems and how the battle over reauthorizing highway and transit programs might be resolved. Mineta led DOT from 2001 to July, 2006 under President George W. Bush, and then moved to Hill & Knowlton, a public relations and lobbying firm, where he is vice-chairman. Related Links: Jockeying Continues on Highway Bills Dueling Plans Shake Transport Outlook MINETA How are things going to play out with the Highway
Top GOP lawmakers told open-shop advocates they face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. At the Associated Builders and Contractors’ legislative conference on June 25, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised concerns about the outlook for the Employee Free Choice Act, which ABC and other opponents call the “card check” bill. When Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) switched to the Democratic party in April, he vowed to oppose the bill. But McConnell doubts Specter will keep that promise and thinks the GOP needs at least two Democrats to block the bill. House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) called the American
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to revise rules governing nitrogen-dioxide air emissions, the first new NO2 standards in more than 35 years. The June 26 proposal includes a new one-hour standard of 80 to 100 parts per billion and would add monitoring for NO2 within 50 meters of major roads in cities with populations of 350,000 or more. EPA would keep the present annual average standard at 53 ppb.
With a multibillion-dollar hole expected to appear in the Highway Trust Fund in August, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has boosted his estimate of how much the repair will cost. LaHood has picked up support in the Senate for his proposed legislative vehicle, an 18-month extension of the current highway-transit law, which lapses on Sept. 30. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders back a different plan, a six-year highway and transit bill, which cleared subcommittee on June 24. Lawmakers, state agencies and construction companies are waiting anxiously to see how the trust-fund remedy will be financed. Photo: Utah Department of Transportation
The Dept. of Energy has announced final regulations that set higher efficiency standards for residential and commercial lighting. The rules, issued June 26, apply to general-service fluorescent lamps (GSFLs) and incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs), which together account for about 45% of total lighting-energy use, DOE says. Under the rules, which take effect in 2012, electricity used in GSFLs would be cut by 15% and 25% in IRLs DOE says the cost of the more efficient lamps would be as much as 13 times higher than current GSFL products’ prices and 47% to 64% higher than current IRL prices. But it
State departments of transportation have passed their first “use it or lose it” test under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, obligating half of their highway stimulus funds at least 10 days before the June 29 deadline set under the economic-stimulus statute. In another positive sign, the number of ARRA highway and transit project starts has climbed sharply, but critics point out that actual outlays remain small. ARRA required states to obligate—commit to specific projects—at least 50% of their highway stimulus allocations by June 29. If not, the unobligated portions would revert to U.S. DOT to be redistributed to other
State departments of transportation have met their first "use it or lose it" deadline under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, obligating half of their stimulus funds for highway projects. The number of ARRA highway and transit project starts has risen sharply in recent weeks, but actual outlays remain small, according to reports from a key House committee. Emphasizing the ARRA progress, the White House and U.S. DOT said on June 25 that $19 billion has been obligated for more than 5,300 highway and other transportation projects. ARRA requires states to obligate--commit to specifid projects--at least 50% of their highway
With the current highway and transit authorization law set to expire on Sept. 30 and the Highway Trust Fund in deep, immediate trouble, a two-way tussle has arisen over what Congress should do next. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the White House want an 18-month highway and transit extension with a trust-fund fix. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and other leaders on the panel reject an extension and have proposed a $500-billion, six-year reauthorization. They want to see the trust fund repaired, but their bill is silent on that point. Missing so far from both LaHood’s
In the face of opposition from the Obama administration, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders have unveiled major elements of a $500-billion surface transportation bill that would carry highway, transit and rail programs through the next six years and restructure Dept. of Transportation programs. Related Links: DOT's LaHood Seeks SAFETEA-LU Extension Other ENR SAFETEA-LU Coverage The proposal would represent about a 50% boost over funding for the past six years, but it doesn't specify where the additional money would come from. It also must contend with a radically different counter-proposal from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has called for an
A $106-billion military funding bill that includes $4.4 billion for defense and civil construction is heading to the White House for President Obama's expected signature. Final congressional approval for the package came on June 18, when the Senate approved it by a 91-5 vote. Most of the measure's funds will go to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Photo: Army Corps of Engineers Bill includes funds for hospital projects at Fort Belvoir, Va. Related Links: Read about the Bethesda hospital project Corps of Engineers Fort Belvoir slide show The largest share of the spending bill's construction funding is $2.7