feed-image Transportation Report - The Hill's Transportation Report Feed »
  October 5, 2011, 2:22 pm

House GOP chairman targets NLRB rules

By Kevin Bogardus

Republicans are moving forward with legislation to roll back regulations coming from the National Labor Relations Board.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 5, 2011, 10:26 am

Mica praises retiring Rep. Costello

By Keith Laing

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) took a break from a hearing about the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed new navigation system to laud retiring Rep. Jerry Costello (Ill.).

Costello, a key Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the ranking member of the panel’s Subcommittee on Aviation, announced this week that he would not seek a 12th term in Congress next year.

Mica, who was elected to Congress four years after Costello in 1992, said he has always had a good working relationship with Costello.

"We have a great rapport, over 19 years, the entire time I've been in Congress," Mica said Wednesday at the top of his remarks. "We served as ranking and chair and back and forth. We worked to bring the aviation system to some sort of normalcy after 9/11 … I couldn't ask for better friends."

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 5, 2011, 9:00 am

News bites: A model (airplane) for terror

By Keith Laing

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A man accused of using remote-controlled model airplanes in a terror plot has pleaded not guilty.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood appeared at an event in New York with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) to push President Obama's proposed "American Jobs Act."

A light rail train in Houston derailed, injuring 15 people.

The Chevrolet Volt electric car has won a recommendation from Consumer Reports magazine.

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 6:12 pm

New York City gets authority to use buses for Occupy Wall Street arrests

By Keith Laing

New York City will be able to continue using some of its public transportation buses to move around protestors arrested for participating in the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations that have been happening in the city, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Several New York media outlets are reporting a U.S. District judge has blocked an effort by the union for New York City bus drivers, Transport Workers Union Local 100, to bar the city from requiring them to drive protestors. The New York Daily News reported the city had transported about 700 arrested demonstrators over the weekend.

The transit workers union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, has been very supportive of the Occupy Wall Street effort, which some have likened to the beginnings of the conservative Tea Party that later propelled Republicans to power in 2010.

Read more...

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 4:57 pm

TSA begins testing 'known-traveler' program at four airports

By Keith Laing

The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it had begun testing a known-traveler program at four airports across the country.

TSA said it is piloting its behavior recognition program, known as PreCheck, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Dallas/Fort Worth International and Miami International airports. The option to provide personal information to TSA to avoid long lines at airport security will be limited to passengers flying on domestic flights.

TSA Administrator John Pistole said the PreCheck program would move the agency away from the "one-size-fits-all approach" that it has been harshly criticized for.

"Our ultimate goal is to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way possible,” Pistole said in a statement. “By learning more about travelers through information they voluntarily provide, and combining that information with our other layers of security, we can focus more resources on higher-risk and unknown passengers.

Read more...

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 3:05 pm

LaHood touts odometer fraud cases

By Keith Laing

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood praised legal cases being prosecuted against men who sold cars with fraudulent mileage readings Tuesday.

LaHood, who has called the practice of rolling back odometers in cars "unscrupulous" in the past, said Tuesday on the Department of Transportation's blog that he was glad four men in Seattle had recently pled guilty to mileage tampering.

"In a blog post last April, I wrote that 'If an unscrupulous seller rolls back the odometer, you could end up driving a car that is considerably less valuable and less safe than you thought,'" LaHood wrote Tuesday.

Read more...

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 12:00 pm

Flight 3407 families enlist lawmakers to pressure Obama on pilot-fatigue rules

By Keith Laing

More than 100 lawmakers have signed a letter asking President Obama to intervene in a fight over schedule requirements for pilots on behalf of stricter limits that have languished in the regulatory process.

Congress gave the FAA, which has been at the center of recent budget fights in Washington, the authority to make changes to the training and scheduling requirements for regional pilots when it passed the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act in 2010. 

But the changes are currently in the administrative rule-making process, and a recent deadline for implementation was missed.

A group formed to lobby for the families of victims of a 2009 plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y, is blaming airline companies for the holdup. They are calling for President Obama to step in on their behalf.

“This sends a strong message to the President that the entire nation is counting on him to put safety ahead of corporate greed,” South Carolina resident Scott Maurer, who's thirty year old daughter Lorin was killed in the Continental Airlines flight 3407 crash said in a statement.  “Unfortunately, Flight 3407 is a tragic reminder of what happens when that is not done. 

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 11:23 am

Democratic Rep. Costello to retire

By Keith Laing

A key Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Tuesday that he wont run for reelection next year.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 11:01 am

Ford, auto union reach labor agreement

By Keith Laing

Detroit-based Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers union announced Tuesday they had agreed to a four-year labor agreement both sides say will add jobs by 2015.

The sides say the deal, which will still have to be approved by UAW members, will create 5,750 new jobs at Ford facilities across the country.

It calls for Ford to spend $16 billion on its U.S. operations, including $6.2 billion for plants, and retain 12,000 positions in total.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  October 4, 2011, 9:00 am

News bites: Woman with a plan

By Keith Laing

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has a plan to fix the bad bridges in her state.

A commuter rail fare hike in Connecticut is being referred to as the "Malloy Tax."

A proposed extension of the Washington, D.C., MetroRail to Dulles International Airport is in danger of being delayed.

Paris is testing electric cars for its short-term rental programs.

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
« Start< Prev231232233234235236237238239240Next >End »
 

More Videos »

Transportation Report Twitter - Click to follow
More From The Web
bloglogo

More Briefing Room »

More Congress Blog »

More Pundits Blog »

More Twitter Room »

More Hillicon Valley »

More E2-Wire (Energy) »

More Ballot Box »

More On The Money »

More Healthwatch »

More Floor Action »

More Transportation »

More DEFCON Hill »

More Global Affairs »

More In The Know »

More RegWatch »

Get latest news from The Hill direct to your inbox, RSS reader and mobile devices.