AGC participated in a meeting June 23 with Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) who called together transportation and construction industry groups to lay out a very ambitous plan for release of a Committee draft bill, at least one hearing and Senate consideration of surface transportation reauthorization legislation before the end of July.

The House introduced the 20th short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration authorization.  The legislation, H.R. 2279, must be considered by the House by tomorrow afternoon because the House is not in session next week and the current extension expires June 30, 2011.  This extension would extend Airport and Airway Trust Fund taxes and Airport Improvement Program contract authority through July 22, 2011. 

On Wednesday, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on a draft bill that would improve the nation’s intercity passenger rail system by leveraging private sector investment and increase competition along the Northeast Corridor. The bill has the potential to create new jobs in rail construction, operation, and station-related development.

On Wednesday, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Bill Schuster (R-Penn.) unveiled a plan for privatizing Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor away from the federally-owned passenger railroad. The route runs from Washington, D.C., to Boston. 

AGC submitted a second set of comments to the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) on its proposal to alter the truck driver Hours-of-Service regulations.  AGC’s comments addressed new studies the FMCSA placed in the public docket to support its effort to change the rules.

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has indicated they may be prepared to release their highway portion of the Surface Transportation authorization bill as early as this week. 

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended the comment period to June 8 on its proposed revisions to the truck driver hours of service regulations to allow for comment on four new studies related to driver fatigue. AGC is reviewing the studies and will supplement the comments AGC has already submitted on the proposed rule change.  FMCSA’s proposed rule suggests the following changes:

The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday issued a joint statement on their progress in developing highway and transit reauthorization legislation, titled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).

New research by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis at the School of Public Health estimates that the additional fine particulate matter emissions that can be traced back to traffic congestion in the nation’s 83 largest urban areas lead to more than 2,200 premature deaths in the U.S. last year. The related public health cost, researchers say, was, conservatively, at least $18 billion.

Nearly 500 construction industry executives participated in the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) fly-in this week, visiting with Senators and Representatives about the need to pass long-term transportation reauthorization legislation with additional revenue to prevent a significant drop in federal transportation investment.