Infrastructure

A recently approved bill to improve the safety of pipelines that are used to transport natural gasoline shows what can happen when lawmakers “put infrastructure before politics,” the sponsor of the measure argued Thursday.

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, wrote in an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Times that the passage of the pipeline bill was a “major accomplishment” that brought “Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen our economy and create jobs,” which Shuster wrote was a rare occurrence.

“Largely overshadowed by the political sniping over taxes and the hustle of the holiday season, Congress unanimously approved and President Obama signed into law the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 — a landmark piece of legislation that will improve an important part of America’s infrastructure and spur job creation,” he wrote.

Senate Democrats expect to pass a surface transportation bill soon after they return to Washington next month.

A bipartisan group of House members says it is "tired of waiting" on House leadership and President Obama and will be pushing forward its own six-year transportation bill in hopes of jump-starting the economy.

Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) and Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) submitted a letter on behalf of 111 House members — composed of 62 Democrats and 49 Republicans — to Obama urging him to support a transportation reauthorization package. The pair appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday to advocate for their plan.

"We're not going to wait any longer, we're not going to wait for the Speaker, we're not going to wait for the president," Schock said, arguing that the "rank and file" was "tired of waiting" on infrastructure projects.

Boehner's legislation would pay for infrastructure improvements with revenue from new drilling. 

A Republican proposal to funnel energy revenues into infrastructure calls for a massive expansion of oil-and-gas leasing.

The Speaker’s plan could help Republicans rebut Democratic claims they are ignoring crumbling roads and bridges.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday that opposition to the infrastructure portions of President Obama's jobs bill in the Senate will be based on "politics," not the merits of the proposal.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a vote Thursday on the president's call for $50 billion in transportation spending and $10 billion to start up a national infrastructure bank. The proposal was incorporated it into Obama's $447 billion jobs act, which has already been rejected by the Senate as a complete package.

But in an interview Wednesday on MSNBC, LaHood said Wednesday the infrastructure proposals were a "no-brainer."

"If senators — both Republicans and Democrats — really are listening to people in their states, people are hurting," he said. "They also know that a $50 billion infrastructure program would put people to work very quickly, and they also know they have a lot of bad roads and bridges in their states."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A California utility company that was blamed by the National Transportation Safety Board for a 2010 pipeline accident has hired one of its former investigators.

Eleven percent of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient, according to a new study.

The NAACP has sued the Philadelphia airport over an ad the airport would not allow.

An extension of Washington's Metro to Dulles International Airport could be $150 million over budget.

The issue of distracted driving will take center stage this week when National Organizations for Youth Safety convenes a teen distracted driving summit just outside of Washington.

The summit, which features workshops and panels with national journalists, including from The Hill, will take place Oct. 16-17 in Crystal City, Va.

The goal of the summit is to increase awareness about distractions while driving caused by things like cellphones and texting, which the group says has caused 20 percent of all car accidents since 2009.

The White House said Tuesday it will fast-track the permitting and environmental review process for 14 infrastructure projects.
 
The move is part of a broader effort by the administration to streamline the permitting process for high-priority projects like roads and bridges that the White House says will create new jobs and boost the economy. Republicans and others have long criticized the federal permitting process for burdening projects with red tape.  
 
“[T]he Obama administration is committed to reforming the federal permitting and environmental review process to ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible while continuing to protect the health and safety of all Americans, and to preserve opportunities for public participation in federal decisionmaking,” the White House said Tuesday in a statement.
 
The announcement comes as President Obama’s jobs bill, which includes billions in infrastructure investments, faces resistance in Congress. But Tuesday’s announcement is an example of something the White House can do without having to rely on congressional approval.