Highways, Bridges and Roads

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Would a transportation tax fare better when President Obama's on the ballot?

A JetBlue plane made an emergency landing at the Palm Beach International Airport.

Complaints against airlines are on the rise.

Washington's MetroRail unveiled a prototype of its newest rail cars.

One of the nation's largest labor unions and one of the biggest groups in the business lobby reached rare consensus on the proposed surface transportation bill put forward Thursday by Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), each saying it was not large enough.

Mica unveiled a long-awaited draft of a six-year the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, transportation bill. But he proposed spending $230 billion over that period, which was less than both the AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce would like to see spent on transportation.

"There is no debate that our nation faces not only a serious jobs crisis but also crumbling roads, transit, bridges, and other public transportation infrastructure that threaten our economic future," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. "And so it is astonishing and unconscionable that the House Republican leadership would push a surface transportation re-authorization bill that would gut current infrastructure investment by a third and obliterate over half a million jobs in the next year alone.

House Transportation Democrats said Rep. John Mica's bill would destroy jobs, not create them.

Even at less money per year, it would be better to pass a longer surface transportation than a short one, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said Wednesday as he unveiled some details about his six-year proposal.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters Wednesday that she would begin consideration of a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill in the next few weeks. But Mica will release a draft of a six-year, $230 billion Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, transportation bill.

Mica said his proposal would average about $35 billion a year, but he said the money can be leverage to about $70 billions a year with private sector loans, he said.

He added that in transportation, it was more important to have consistent funding levels than higher amounts.

"I have no problem working for as high a level as we can reach together, but I have constraints in the rules of House," he said of pending negotiations with Boxer.

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee will unveil his version of the next surface transportation bill Thursday, his office said this week.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) is expected to propose less than half of the $556 billion President Obama called for spending on transportation over the next six years.

Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) had said her version of the bill would be about $339.2 billion, but reports said this week she is considering a two-year, $109 billion measure.

Mica will hold a briefing on the bill, which funds both road projects and public transportation, with reporters Wednesday afternoon. 

This post was updated at 1:03 p.m.

Tennessee Republican Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander last week introduced legislation that would waive the requirement that all states install more reflective road signs by 2018.

Their bill, S. 1216, would ease what they say is a burden on all states to meet the road-sign mandate from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). That agency has required all state and local governments to present a plan to the federal government by next January on how they will put up more reflective road signs, which the FHWA says leads to safer driving.

House Republicans should include a new surface transportation bill in their summer schedule, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association said this week.

In a letter to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), dated Thursday, ARTBA CEO Peter Ruane said this week that Cantor, the second highest-ranking Republican in the House, made an omission in his recently released floor schedule for the summer.

"We share your desire to focus on job creating legislation in the coming months," Ruane wrote to Cantor. "Unfortunately, the 'Summer Floor Schedule for America's Job Creators' you released last week omits one of the most significant employment boosting measures pending before Congress — the nearly two-year overdue reauthorization of the federal surface transportation program."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The Federal Aviation Administration said Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew planes that had been struck by lightning.

A new toy will allow kids to play Transportation Security Administration agents.

A Chicago chef's knives made it through airport security, even though he was patted down.

San Francisco's transportation chief is leaving his job.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

An Ohio couple say they missed their honeymoon flight because they were held by the Transportation Security Administration over contact solution.

A Newark, N.J., flight was delayed when a flight attendant found graffiti in the bathroom of the plane.

Meet Rahm Emanuel's choice to lead the Chicago Department of Transportation.

High-speed rail is all the rage now, but some Amtrak trains in Detroit are going to be moving more slowly.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Nearly 25 percent of domestic flights in April arrived late because of thunderstorms at airport hubs.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the location of the first of his promised 100 "protected bike lanes."

A newspaper wants California Gov. Jerry Brown to end his silence on a proposed high-speed rail there.

The new Airbus airplane now flies to Washington's Dulles International Airport.