Texas lawmakers may reconsider a bill to outlaw controversial airport pat-downs, the sponsor of legislation that was shelved recently said this week.

Texas state Rep. David Simpson (R) said that Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst reportedly asked Gov. Rick Perry to include the measure in a special session of the Texas legislature. Dewhurst reported asked lawmakers to withdraw the bill when federal officials threatened to cancel flights to Texas if it passed.

But he has since had a change of heart, Simpson told fans on his Facebook page.

"The Lt. Gov. sent a letter to Gov. Perry asking him to include the TSA bill HB 1937 in the special session!," Simpson wrote on the website. "Please call the Governor and tell him you agree with Lt. Gov. Dewhurst!"

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's meeting with Virginia officials about a proposed expansion of Washington's MetroRail to Dulles International Airport should be a wake-up call for the panel overseeing the project, a newspaper editorial board said Thursday.

The Washington Post said in an editorial that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is overseeing the project, should take heed of LaHood's statements that the federal government cannot cover cost overruns for the project.

Airport officials want to locate the new station at Dulles, which is the main reason the Metro line is being built underground. Officials from Virginia's Fairfax and Loundon counties, whose constituents are paying for the extension, point out that the underground station would cost $330 million more to build than an above-ground stop.

Critics attribute the airport authority's instance on the more expensive option to the fact that its members are appointed, rather than elected, officials. But the editorial said LaHood delivered an "unusually blunt message" the airport officials should take heed of.

"The federal government 'is not a cash cow,' he said; it's not going to ride to the project's rescue," the editorial board wrote. 

The National Mediation Board said this week it would investigate a union election held last year for Delta Airlines', triggering criticism from conservatives who are already riled up about a separate union issue at an airplane manufacturer.

The Association of Flight Attendants contested the results of the Nov. 3, 2010  election that was scheduled after Delta, which is largely non-unionized, merged with Northwest Airlines, which does have unions.  The AFA alleged Delta interfered with the election, leading to its loss, and the NMB agreed.

"The Railway Labor Act provides that shall be the board's duty to investigate representative disputes and to 'insure the choice of representatives by the employees without interference, influence or coercion exercised by the carrier," NMB General Counsel Mary Johnson wrote in a letter dated June 1.

"After reviewing the submissions provided by AFA and Delta, I find that in order for the board to determine whether the laboratory conditions were tainted, further investigation is needed."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A United Airlines plane returned to Washington's Dulles Airport when two passengers began fighting over a reclined seat.

The company that operated a bus that crashed over the week was about to be shut down for safety violations.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is still being criticized by Democrats for rejecting high-speed rail money.

Oregon is installing electric car charging stations on Interstate 5.
 

Obama wants credit for the industry’s recovery as he visits the Midwest — an area essential to his reelection efforts.

No matter which team is hosting the games of the ongoing National Basketball Association Finals, the games will be played in an arena named after American Airlines.

The airline has hubs at the airports in Miami, home of the Eastern Conference champion Heat, and in Dallas, home of the Western Conference Champion Mavericks. The airline purchased the naming rights to arenas in both cities in 1999, and the courts were christened the AmericanAirlines Arena and American Airlines Center respectively.

The airline is paying Miami $42 million over 20 years and giving $195 million over 30 years to Dallas.

Read more...

A member of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that its recommendations to improve the safety of passenger buses need to be taken more seriously in the wake of a fatal crash in Northern Virginia over the weekend.

NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said on the panel's Safety Compass blog that the agency, which is investigating the accident, has recommended changes for years. Among them are stronger roofs, emergency exits and higher standards for passenger seating compartments, he said.

The agency has also recommended lane-departure warning systems and collision-monitors.

The problem, Sumwalt said Wednesday, is that the recommendations have not gone anywhere.

Read more...

The White House credited the president's “political courage” for turning around the Big Three auto companies.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it was imposing strict civil penalties for passengers who point lasers at airplane cockpits.

The lasers could impair pilots' vision and distract flight crews from performing their safety functions, the agency said Wednesday.

“Shining a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is not a joke. These lasers can temporarily blind a pilot and make it impossible to safely land the aircraft, jeopardizing the safety of the passengers and people on the ground,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement.