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11/10/2011
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved a bill to reauthorize the nation’s transportation programs for two years, the EPW Committee announced in a press release.
Dubbed “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21),” the bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), committee chairwoman; Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the committee; Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee; and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), ranking member of the subcommittee.
The bill calls for funding transportation programs at current levels plus inflation, consolidating 90 programs into 30 and eliminating earmarks.
The committee’s unanimous, bipartisan vote “sends a strong signal that we are serious about job creation and getting our economy back on track,” Boxer said in a prepared statement.
“This cooperation is a rare win for bipartisanship, and I believe it will provide encouragement to the Finance Committee as they work to ensure full funding for this two-year effort,” said Boxer.
Larry Kaufman wrote re:
Senate committee unanimously OKs transportation reauthorization bill
on 11/11/2011 10:19:41 AM
Quite so, tregister, quite so. As I wrote in a recent column, this one isn't even a Democrats vs. Republicans battle. It's getting to be a Senate vs. House battle. The fuel tax no longer produces enough revenue to the Highway Trust Fund to pay for the authorization. The Republican mantra of no new taxes, nowehre, nohow, just sort of gets in the way of doing anything on transportation infrastructure. John Mica claims his House bill will cover the spending to be authorized and without new taxes. He must believe in alchemy - the Medieval belief that the grand wizard or whoever could convert dross into gold. There was a time when pro-railroad people like me could sit back and watch this train-wreck happen (pardon the metaphor), secure in the knowledge that anything bad for truckers was probably good for railroads. Not so any longer. There is so much intermodal traffic that must be drayed that railroads are just as desperate for infrastructure maintenance and improvement as are the motor carriers. I'm sure someone from the Tea Party can come up with a comment that will put me in my place and explain why we really need to do away with the entire government.
tregister wrote re:
Senate committee unanimously OKs transportation reauthorization bill
on 11/11/2011 8:03:38 AM
I am glad that they extended the budget once again. How many times has the transportation bill been extended, 8 or 9 times, How can states or anyone do any longter planing with the stop gap measures. How many people in the transportation field have to lose thier jobs,... This country needs a comprehinsive bill... Our infrastructure is our life line..
