December 14, 2018 – With less than three weeks left until the end of the 115th Congress, twelve of President Trump’s transportation-related nominees are still pending on the Senate’s Executive Calendar, and five more are pending in committee.
December 14, 2018 – Funding for federal agencies supported by seven of the twelve annual appropriations bills expires one week from tonight, and there is no immediately obvious path towards averting a government shutdown beginning at midnight on Friday, December 21. Agreement on six of the seven pending appropriations bills is at hand, but a major partisan dispute on funding a U.S.-Mexico border wall in the Homeland Security bill prevents overall agreement.
December 14, 2018 – A $30 billion package of tax extenders, which included a permanent (albeit reduced) extension of the tax credit for railroad maintenance for Class II and III railroads, was dropped from the latest version of year-end tax legislation introduced by the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee this week. But the new package appears to lack votes in the House, just like the last version did.
December 14, 2018 – More announcements regarding committee assignments and leaders for the upcoming 116th Congress were made this week.
December 14, 2018 – President Trump has apparently done an about-face on the level of FY 2020 defense spending he will request, which has vast implications for the total level of non-defense appropriations as well.
December 14, 2018 – This week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued its biennial report updating a wide menu of revenue increase and spending cut options and the amount by which each of the 121 options would decrease federal deficits over the coming years.
December 11, 2018 – Today, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the full list of recipients of $1.475 billion in fiscal year 2018 funding for 91 individual grants under the Department’s BUILD surface transportation grant program (formerly known as TIGER grants).
December 7, 2018 – Three years and two days after the enactment of the FAST Act, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released their study of the future of the Interstate Highway System commissioned by section 6021 of that law.
December 7, 2018 – In a work week truncated by the funeral ceremonies for former President George H.W. Bush, both chambers of Congress yesterday passed, by unanimous consent, a joint resolution extending the stopgap appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2019 by two weeks – from midnight tonight, to midnight on Friday, December 21.
December 7, 2018 – Members of Congress began announcing the locations of almost $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2018 BUILD surface transportation grants (formerly known as TIGER grants) from the U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday. This is three times the size of the FY 2017 grant program, the increase being made possible by the February 20178 bipartisan budget deal.
December 7, 2018 – The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has issued a new update of its periodic report, “Critical Issues in Transportation.”
Tuesday, December 11 – House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Environment – subcommittee hearing on the 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act – Discussion Draft (bill text here) – 10:00 a.m., 2123 Rayburn.
December 6, 2018 – President Trump on December 4 announced his intent to nominate two persons to fill slots on the three-member Railroad Retirement Board.
December 5, 2018 – With time running out in the Senate, proponents of autonomous vehicles legislation released a much-revised draft version of the bill this week.
December 3., 2018 – 7:00 p.m. – Although the Presidential funeral has upended the legislative schedule, news was made on Capitol Hill on the appropriations front and on the autonomous vehicle bill this evening.
November 30, 2018 – Funding for many federal agencies runs out one week from tonight at midnight, and negotiators made little progress this week on the big issue in disagreement, funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
November 30, 2018 – This morning, the House Republican Conference ratified the selection of ranking minority members for House committees for the upcoming 116th Congress.
November 30, 2018 – House Democrats elected their party leaders for the upcoming 116th Congress this week, and those leaders made preliminary progress on some changes to chamber rules to be adopted in January. But the pivotal issue of whether or not to bring back earmarks (and, if they do, under what reforms) won’t be addressed until closer to January 3.
November 30, 2018 – This week, the Federal Transit Administration announced that they are formally allocating fiscal 2018 appropriations for the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program for four new mass transit projects: the third section of the mammoth Los Angeles Westside Purple Line extension, plus smaller projects in Tempe, Arizona (a new streetcar system), Minneapolis, Minnesota (a new bus rapid transit system), and capacity upgrades in the Dallas, Texas DART rail system.
November 30, 2018 – The House of Representatives was supposed to consider a $54 billion tax bill today, and even adopted a special rule from the Rules Committee yesterday allowing the bill to come forward, but late last night the bill was pulled from the House schedule.