Shuster confident in transportation panel bid despite possible Mica waiver

By Keith Laing - 11/08/12 03:09 PM ET

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said Tuesday that he intends to seek the chairmanship of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee despite rumors the panel’s current chairman is thinking about sticking around.

Shuster acknowledged on a conference call with reporters that Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) might seek a waiver from term limits for committee chairmen.

But Shuster said he was going ahead with his bid to assume the committee’s gavel, which he formally announced to his colleagues in the House Republican Conference this week.

“I’ve spoken to him,” Shuster said of Mica on the conference call. “He said he may go for a waiver. That’s a question for him if he’s going to pursue a waiver. I’m going to pursue this.”

Mica has not said much about his future on the Transportation Committee publicly, but he won reelection to an 11th term on Tuesday. House rules implemented by the GOP call for lawmakers to step down after six years as ranking member or chairman of a particular committee, unless they are given a waiver by leadership.

Republicans have already indicated they are planning to issue such a waiver for unsuccessful GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to remain in charge of the House Budget Committee. Mica is said to be considering making a similiar request himself.

That notwithstanding, Shuster used his conference call with reporters to lay out a robust agenda for the Transportation Committee under his leadership in the 113th Congress next year.

“The next Congress is going to have to consider a highway bill ... (the Passenger Rail Investment Act) will have to be reauthorized and we’ll have to do a water bill, which hasn’t been authorized,” Shuster said. “It’s good to be a very, very busy committee.”

Shuster said his bid to assume the helm of the committee was not a “done deal,” but he expressed confidence that he would have the votes of the lower chamber’s GOP caucus.

“I’ve been reaching out to colleagues and leadership to gauge support, and the response has been very encouraging,” Shuster said.

“Hopefully the conference will confirm that I’m up to challenge and honor me” with the panel’s gavel, Shuster said.