Car companies do not have to keep up with the rest of society in making it easier to access social media, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is arguing.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, LaHood said he is urging auto companies that report to the Department of Transportation (DOT) not to add features to computers in their new cars that make it easier to distract drivers. Some car companies have added applications for social media websites to onboard computers that are often used for navigation and performance monitoring. 

But that is not a good idea, LaHood said late last week.

"There's absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car," U.S. LaHood said in an interview with the newspaper. "It's not necessary."

Rep. Mike Kelly's concerns about the direction of the federal government crystallized around GM.

Chrysler's CEO said the government bailout was necessary and "a phenomenal deal for U.S. taxpayers."

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica said Friday that privatizing airport security screeners could save the federal government $1 billion over the next five years.

Mica (R-Fla.) released the findings of a report comparing federally supervised private screeners at San Francisco International to Transportation Security Administration employees at Los Angeles International Airport, saying the private screeners were 65 percent more efficient. It took 2,200 workers to screen 21 million passengers at LAX, while it only took 937 screeners to check 15 million flyers in San Francisco, Mica said.

"If we applied those findings to the nation's top 35 airports, we could save over $1 billion over five years," Mica said in a news conference at the Capitol. "TSA should be not be the operator, auditor and regulator at the airports."

The president celebrated the car-makers' resurgence at a Chrysler plant, but acknowledged the overall economy's slowing recovery.

Utah is considering and Texas is reconsidering legislation to outlaw federally mandated pat-down screenings at airports.

Laurie Knight, the top lobbyist for the National Association of Broadcasters, is leaving to join the Association of American Railroads (AAR) as senior vice president of government affairs, the groups announced Friday.

NAB President Gordon Smith said in a statement that the broadcasters will conduct an "exhaustive search" for Knight's successor. 

"NAB is in good hands with a solid group of government relations professionals who are in equal numbers Republicans and Democrats," he said. 

The AAR will be impressed with Knight's "political connections and work ethic," he said. 

Knight spent five years at NAB. Before that, she lobbied for the National Beer Wholesalers Association. She served as legislative director for former Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas). 

The transition comes as the NAB fights some tough battles on the Hill and at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where policymakers are pushing measures to devote TV airwaves to mobile broadband. The NAB says the policy is acceptable as long as broadcasters are not harmed.

At AAR, Knight will succeed Hubert “Obie” O’Bannon who will retire after 23 years with the association, the group said in an announcement.

On Friday, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica will once again take the Transportation Security Administration to task.

Mica (R-Fla.) will hold a press conference to discuss a new report he says shows the TSA cost estimates for private airport screeners are off-base, his office said.

TSA has contended that its federal screeners are more cost-effective than bringing in private companies for airport security checkpoints. The law that created the TSA after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which Mica helped write, allows airports to "opt out" of TSA screenings. However, TSA stopped several airports from opting out this year, saying it would cost more than having government screeners.

Mica frequently contends TSA has grown too large and is unaccountable to lawmakers. He will discuss his report at 11:45 in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A Texas city is banning saggy pants on public transportation.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has received 976 emails about an Orlando commuter railway, but only 36 have been in favor.

A Transportation Security Administration worker accused of stealing from passengers' luggage has been indicted.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told Brooklyn residents who have been complaining about helicopter tours of the city that the Federal Aviation Administration controls the airspace, not his administration.