Highways, Bridges and Roads

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica's (R-Fla.) opponent in a member-versus-member Republican primary is calling for him to endorse a permanent ban on earmarking in the legislative process.

Mica has frequented lamented the effect a current House ban on earmarks had on his ability to win support for the recent $105 billion surface transportation that was approved by lawmakers.

But his opponent in his bid for reelection, freshman Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), said Wednesday that the earmark ban should be permanent.

"John Mica and other big-spending career politicians are part of the problem in Washington, D.C.," Adams said in an email to supporters. “After requesting $4 billion in earmarks and increasing our nation’s debt by more than $10 trillion over the past 20 years, central Floridians cannot afford John Mica any longer.

"With a nearly $16 trillion debt, it is clear the old way of doing things in Congress just doesn't work for the American people," Adams continued. "I will continue to fight for an earmark ban in the 113th Congress, but the question begs to be asked: Would John Mica?”

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) does not mention the recently approved $105-billion transportation bill in a new campaign ad touting his achievements.

Mica is locked in a contentious primary with fellow House member Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) after redistricting left the two battling for the same seat. Adams has often attacked Mica for his role in the passage of the transportation bill, including a recent criticism of his attendance at a White House ceremony for President Obama's signing of the bill.

In a new 30-second ad released by his campaign this week, Mica mentions healthcare, Medicare and taxes, but not the transportation bill.

"John Mica will fight to repeal ObamaCare," the ad says. "He'll restore Medicare, give seniors quality care again. John will protect military families and end Obama's war against Tricare. He'll fight the new taxes created by ObamaCare and the billions more Obama has planned for the middle class."

“While not perfect, this bipartisan agreement has important reforms," Boehner said of the bill signed Friday.

Obama touts measure as keeping construction workers employed to rebuild U.S. infrastructure.

Construction signs on roads in Anchorage, Alaska, were hacked this week to suggest that President Obama be impeached.

The Alaska Department of Transportation said signs that are normally used to inform drivers about construction and detours ahead of them on roads were changed without permission to suggest charges be filed against the president, according to a report by Anchorage television station KTUU.

“I'm sure somebody thought it was a pretty funny joke but we try to convey a lot of important information with these signs,” Alaska DOT regional construction engineer Tim Croghan told the station, which is the NBC affiliate in Alaska.

The television station reported that the Alaska transportation department does not lock the boxes that contain the controls for its electronic signs.

Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) said the highway bill that was approved with Mica's help was too expensive. 

The lobbying group for the city governments said Friday that the $105 billion transportation bill that will be signed by President Obama is proof that bipartisanship is still possible in a very divided Congress.

Lawmakers in both chambers voted by large margins last week to approve the transportation bill, which provides funding for road and transit projects for the next two years. The measure is the first new transportation spending bill approved by Congress since 2005.

The Washington, D.C.-based National League of Cities said the bill could be a harbinger of things to come in the legislative process if Congress continues working together.

“This bill is an excellent example of what can happen when individuals set aside differences and move past political point making to work on a bipartisan basis to get things done," NLC President Ted Ellis said in a statement. 

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to The New York Times to defend the recently approved $105 billion transportation bill.

The newspaper's editorial board applauded Boxer and Sen. James Inhfore (R-Okla.) for working across party lines to help pass the transportation bill earlier this week.

In response to the editorial, Boxer wrote that the bill "will finance highway, bridge and public transportation projects for 27 months, saving and creating close to 3 million jobs a year."

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) touted the recently approved $105 billion transportation bill on the side of a major highway in his district.

Perhaps taking a cue from his counterpart in the Senate, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Mica held a press conference to highlight the passage of the transportation bill at a rest stop on Interstate 4, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel. 

Boxer held a similar event earlier this week at an entrance to Interstate 405 in her home state of California. 

A key environmental group is gearing up for the next fight over transportation spending, before President Obama's signature formally ends the most recent one on Friday.

The New York City-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said Friday that the two-year, $105 billion transportation bill Obama is scheduled to sign contained too many anti-environment provisions.

“This has not been a pretty process, watching House Republicans delay a jobs bill while trying to load it with a slew of anti-environmental provisions," NRDC federal transportation policy director Deron Lovaas said in a statement.

"While the worst riders were dropped, the result still was a mess of a bill that reduces public oversight of highway projects and cuts funding for transportation choices that would have reduced traffic while lessening our dependence on oil," he continued. "We will work toward a better result in two years, when Congress again must take up this important issue.”