Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano should be replaced as the head of the agency charged with protecting the country against terrorism, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said this week.

Appearing on the Fox Business channel for an interview with Lou Dobbs, Mica criticized Napolitano's recent announcement that most children under 12 years old would no longer be subjected to pat-downs at airport security.

Mica, who has frequently criticized the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and pushed to privatize airport security, said the announcement telegraphed U.S. anti-terrorism techniques.

"I think it's time for Napolitano to go," he said in the interview with Dobbs. "She doesn't have a clue."

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that Congress should tie the next highway bill to an expansion of domestic oil and gas drilling.

“I’m not opposed to responsible spending to repair and improve infrastructure,” Boehner said during a speech at the Economic Club of Washington. “But if we want to do it in a way that truly supports long-term economic growth and job creation, let’s link the next highway bill to an expansion of American-made energy production.”

Improving infrastructure, Boehner said, would make it easier to transport oil, gas and other energy sources across the country.

In a 238-186 vote, the House approved Rep. Scott's bill prohibiting the NLRB from ordering a company to relocate workers.

The House on Thursday morning approved a rule setting the terms of debate for H.R. 2587, which would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from ordering companies to close up shop or relocate employment.

The rule was passed on a 239-176, mostly party-line vote after a predictably heated debate over how much power the NLRB should have over industry decisions to move from state to state. The bill is a reaction to the NLRB's suit against Boeing for seeking to open a production line in the right-to-work state of South Carolina, which the NLRB said was an effort to retaliate against Washington state union workers.

A group pushing for Congress to provide back pay to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workers who were furloughed last month says the House could soon approve a bill to do just that, even as another round of furloughs looms in the Senate.

The upper chamber has a bill to extend the funding of the FAA, which is set to expire Friday at midnight, as well as federal highway programs. But Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is threatening to hold up a vote on the bill because of a disagreement about provisions in the highway portion of the bill designed to enhance roadways with bike paths and greenery.

If that impasse is not resolved in the next day or so, FAA workers will be furloughed, as about 4,000 were for nearly two weeks last month.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The Department of Transportation is moving to ban electronic cigarettes on flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Boeing's new 747 model for flying closer to other airplanes.

An airline passenger who was detained on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks says she was racially profiled.

New York City is launching a bike share program.

Boeing is not endorsing a House Republican bill limiting the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) powers. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Tom Coburn each said the other could stop looming furloughs.

A House subcommittee voted to require technology that would prevent security scanners from capturing images of passengers’ bodies.