Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) was selected by the House Republican Conference to be the next Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) on Tuesday. He succeeds Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL).

Under the agreement, federal transportation funding will continue at roughly $54 billion a year, with public transportation funds set at $8.36 billion in FY2012, $8.47 billion in FY 2013 and $8.595 billion in FY 2014.

The tentative agreement establishes federal highway, transit and highway safety policy and keeps programs at current funding levels through the end of fiscal year 2014. If a majority of House and Senate conferees approve the conference report, both bodies are then expected to take up the measure before the end of the week, prior to the expiration of the current extension of transportation funding on June 30th.

A Sr. Democratic aide also reported that both the House and Senate are close to an overall deal but have not yet wrapped everything up.

Consensus on a transportation authorization bill has been stalled since SAFTEA-LU expired in September 2009, with both the House and Senate releasing and approving two vastly different bills.

The bill, which would extend SAFETEA-LU and the collection of motor fuels taxes that are deposited in the Highway Trust Fund through June 30, 2012, is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama.

In related news, Mica also announced that he will introduce a three-month extension of highway and transit programs. The extension will not include changes to current transportation policy.

Proposal, which has stalled due to the inability to garner Republican support, was meant to help the party stake an election-year claim to being the party of job creation

This legislation is the largest transportation reform bill since the creation of the Interstate Highway System. It contains no earmarks and cuts high-speed rail, while also significantly reducing Amtrak funding.

On Tuesday, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) and Members of the Committee unveiled the long-awaited American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, which looks to authorize approximately $260 billion over five years to fund federal highway, transit and safety programs at current funding levels.