House News Updates

A roundtable discussion on the transportation policy priorities of state and local governments will be held March 13 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A House panel will hold a hearing March 12 to examine the Department of Transportation’s implementation of MAP-21 and President Obama’s budget request for surface transportation agencies.

Transportation projects organized as public-private partnerships have offered useful infrastructure contributions, a group of industry officials told a special House panel March 5.

A special House panel exploring opportunities for public-private partnerships across all modes of transportation will conduct an overview hearing March 5 on Capitol Hill.

President Obama took some time to talk about trucks and trucking last week, and while standing among some Class 8s, he observed: “Trucks like these are responsible for about 20% of our on-road fuel consumption, and because they haul about 70% of all domestic freight — 70% of the stuff we use, everything from flat-screen TVs to diapers to produce to you-name-it — every mile that we gain in fuel efficiency is worth thousands of dollars of savings every year.”

The House highways and transit subcommittee will hold a public hearing and a roundtable discussion to examine freight needs and the transportation authorization bill Congress is scheduled to write this year.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week published a proposal that would establish a national clearinghouse of drug and alcohol test results for truck drivers.

The House subcommittee on highways and transit will hold a hearing Jan. 28 to take testimony on “Improving the Effectiveness of the Federal Surface Transportation Safety Grant Programs.”

Public-private partnerships have gained ground in the debate over how to pay for roads and other infrastructure projects with the announcement of a special House panel to explore P3 issues and opportunities.