Highways, Bridges and Roads

The Mothers Against Drunk Driving group said Monday that the approval of a $105 billion transportation funding bill was a "good day for highway safety."

The group was celebrating because the bill contains incentives for states to spend transportation money on programs to detect drunk drivers, like ignition interlocks.

“Drunk driving crashes increase significantly during the July 4th holiday making it one of the most deadly times to travel," MADD National President Jan Withers said in a statement.

"MAP-21 is an historic opportunity to advance highway safety because we now have congressional approval on a blueprint for our nation to eliminate drunk driving," she said of the new transportation measure, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) bill. 

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) is among the lawmakers with something to celebrate after passage of a $105 billion transportation package.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday that his former colleagues in Congress should be applauded for passing a $105 billion transportation spending bill in the midst of an election year.

LaHood, who was a Republican member of the House before he was appointed to his Cabinet position by President Obama in 2009, said in a post on his "Fast Lane" blog on the transportation department's website that the highway legislation was "a good bill that will create jobs, strengthen our transportation system, and grow our economy.

"Transportation moves our economy, so legislation that keeps America's transportation network operating safely and reliably is a national priority," LaHood wrote. "And it's no secret that I have pressed steadily for our legislators to set aside politics and pass a bipartisan bill that puts America first. So, it is welcome news that Congress has done that."

A president’s name was on everyone’s lips last week after lawmakers finished work on a $105 billion transportation bill, but it wasn’t Barack Obama.

Instead, Democratic and Republican lawmakers involved in the painstaking negotiations over the first federal highway bill in seven years portrayed themselves as protectors of the legacy left by the 34th president, Republican Dwight Eisenhower.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) boasted to his constituents that he passed "the most important transportation reform bill since Eisenhower" as he builds a case for reelection in a contested primary later this summer.

Not to be outdone, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) portrayed herself as the congressional defender of the transportation system that was created by the general-turned-president in the 1950s.

"On June 29, 1956 — exactly 56 years ago — President Dwight Eisenhower started us on a path to a national transportation system, and today we saved that system," Boxer said in a statement after both chambers had passed the bill.

Soon after passing the highway-flood-student loan bill, the House and Senate approved H.R. 6064, which would extend highway funding and the low student interest rate for one week.

The extension is needed because it is expected to take several days to enroll the larger bill, and the highway and student loan authorizations expire this weekend. Enrollment is the process of preparing the bill for the president's signature, and it will likely take several days.

New $105 billion highway bill is the end of "long and winding road," said Sen. Boxer.

The massive package will likely be the last major piece of legislation passed by Congress until after the November elections.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said Friday that the House may pass a temporary extension of current transportation funding legislation to ensure there is no gap in spending.

The House on Friday approved a $105 billion bill to provide road and transit funding for the next two years.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) quoted "Larry the Cable Guy" in a victory lap speech Friday about the congressional agreement on a $105 billion transportation spending bill.

Speaking at the end of the debate on the agreement between the House and Senate on the first multi-year transportation bill to be voted on by Congress since 2005, Mica said his son was a fan of the comedian and used one of his famous lines to describe his feelings about the potential new highway bill.

"A lot of people said it couldn't be done, but as my son always says, he likes The Cable Guy, he said 'git 'er done'. Son, we got 'er done," Mica said on the floor of the House.

A union for employees of the public transportation system called the $105 billon highway bill a "death blow" to mass transit that will result in higher fares for riders.

The Washington, D.C.-based Amalgamated Transit Union said the compromise between the House and Senate on a long-sought surface transportation spending bill will limit public transit systems from using federal money that had traditionally had been used for new construction to help pay for operations.

The result will be higher fares for mass transit riders, ATU President Larry Hanley said Friday.

"This transportation bill is a death blow to public transportation; it not only does nothing to address the American mass transit crisis, but will make it much worse,” Hanley said in a statement released by the union.