Transportation and Infrastructure

The Senate passed a bill Thursday night that could make it less of a hassle to check a bag for international travel.

The House will likely consider a bill next week that would give homeless veterans unclaimed clothing recovered at U.S. airports.

Members debated the bill briefly, then quickly approved it by voice vote after a handful of members indicated opposition.

New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D) and Robert Menendez (D) thanked the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Monday for sending buses to help alleviate their state’s transportation problems caused by Hurricane Sandy.

“Getting our transportation system back up and running is a critical part of New Jersey's recovery from Superstorm Sandy,” Lautenberg said in a statement Monday. “The buses being dispatched to New Jersey by the federal government will add much needed capacity so that residents can go to work, reach their families, buy groceries, and resume their daily lives.”

The DOT has contracted with private operators to provide 200 buses to New Jersey, 70 of which were supposed to arrive Monday. The rest will come later this week.

DHS Secretary Napolitano said "this waiver will remove a potential obstacle to bringing additional fuel to the storm damaged region."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) this week asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reduce lead emissions from general aviation planes more quickly by stepping up requirements for using unleaded fuels.

Waxman said these planes, which make up a significant portion of U.S. flights and include everything from small planes to corporate jets, have been exempt from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules on leaded fuel. This exemption means that about half of all lead air emissions in the U.S. come from general aviation planes.

The House Oversight Committee chairman claims lost tax revenue could also drive up cost of similar loan to Fisker Automotive.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) dared the Obama administration on Thursday to prove that its $2 billion in grants for electric vehicles led to the employment of “thousands of American workers.”

Grassley’s comment came after one grant recipient, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy this week. A123 Systems made batteries for electric cars, an industry President Obama has touted as a successful government investment during his reelection campaign.

Two House Democrats are demanding that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) move more quickly to implement a program aimed at preventing internal TSA employees from accessing information in order to jeopardize the security of the country's transportation systems.

House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and subcommittee ranking member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) wrote to TSA Administrator John Pistole on this issue Wednesday, after a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report said TSA still has more work to do.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for an undercover investigation on Thursday into complaints of theft by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.

Schumer sent TSA administrator John Pistole a letter Thursday, asking him to immediately address recent reports of agents stealing property from luggage and security checkpoints at airports around the country.