The House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 223-196, H.R. 658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011. Among other things, H.R. 658 keeps the passenger facility charge cap at $4.50 (as the current Senate bill does) and cuts Airport Improvement Program funding to $3 billion per year, which is $500 million less than the current appropriated level and over $1 billion less than the Senate bill.

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced a new proposal for the creation of a federal infrastructure Bank on Tuesday.  The legislation, which has yet to be introduced, is called the “Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for the Long-Term Development Act” (BUILD Act) and will create a federal government owned but independent financing authority.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the rounds this week in the Senate defending his agency’s fiscal year 2012 budget in front of three Senate Committees.  The Secretary appeared before the Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Appropriations Committees to discuss the USDOT budget as part of a six-year, $556 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking to overhaul the hours of service rules for truck drivers. The comment period was extended to March 4, 2011.

Following AGC and our transportation and construction industry allies spending the last several weeks educating Members of Congress on the impact that failure to pass an extension would have on state DOTs and the construction industry, the House and the Senate each passed H.R. 662, extending federal surface transportation program funding through September 30, 2011.

Following a day of intrigue concerning several different Senators threatening to prevent the bill from moving forward, the Senate by voice vote approved HR 662, legislation extending highway and transit program authorization until September 30, 2011 the end of federal fiscal year 2011. The bill will now go to President Obama who is expected to sign it. This action will prevent a shutdown of the Federal Highway Administration and allow for the continuation of Federal reimbursements to states for ongoing construction projects.

The National Quality Initiative (NQI) was inaugurated in November 1992 as a unique partnership designed to focus attention and energy on continuous improvement in the quality of highway in the United States. The NQI later grew into the National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) but its mission was largely unchanged: addressing customer needs by advocating the use of practices which improve the quality of the nation’s highways. AGC has served as the Co-Chair of both the NQI and NPHQ.

By a vote of 421 to 4, the House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 662, extending federal surface transportation program funding through the end of the federal fiscal year 2011 which ends on September 30, 2011. The highway and transit programs are currently operating under the sixth extension of authorization which is set to expire on Friday, March 4.

Federal transportation programs face challenges like never before. SAFETEA-LU expired on September 30, 2009 and funding for the highway and transit programs have been continued through a series of short term extensions.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking to overhaul the hours of service rules for truck drivers. The comment period has been extended to March 4, 2011.