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On Wednesday, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Bill Schuster (R-Penn.) unveiled a plan for privatizing Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor away from the federally-owned passenger railroad. The route runs from Washington, D.C., to Boston. 

�鶹��Ƶ submitted a second set of comments to the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) on its proposal to alter the truck driver Hours-of-Service regulations.  �鶹��Ƶ’s comments addressed new studies the FMCSA placed in the public docket to support its effort to change the rules.

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has indicated they may be prepared to release their highway portion of the Surface Transportation authorization bill as early as this week. 

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended the comment period to June 8 on its proposed revisions to the truck driver hours of service regulations to allow for comment on four new studies related to driver fatigue. �鶹��Ƶ is reviewing the studies and will supplement the comments �鶹��Ƶ has already submitted on the proposed rule change.  FMCSA’s proposed rule suggests the following changes:

The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday issued a joint statement on their progress in developing highway and transit reauthorization legislation, titled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).

New research by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis at the School of Public Health estimates that the additional fine particulate matter emissions that can be traced back to traffic congestion in the nation’s 83 largest urban areas lead to more than 2,200 premature deaths in the U.S. last year. The related public health cost, researchers say, was, conservatively, at least $18 billion.

Nearly 500 construction industry executives participated in the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) fly-in this week, visiting with Senators and Representatives about the need to pass long-term transportation reauthorization legislation with additional revenue to prevent a significant drop in federal transportation investment.

As �鶹��Ƶ members deployed on Capitol Hill this week to urge their members of Congress to enact a timely multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, Senate Environment and Public Works  (EPW) Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.), along with Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-La.), issued a statement (link to attachment) on Wednesday saying that that have made “great progress” in moving a surface transportation reauthorization bill. 

Congress this week passed the 19th short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration authorization.  The extension, which runs through June 30, 2011, extends Airport and Airway Trust Fund taxes and Airport Improvement Program contract authority. 

This week, nearly 500 people will gather in Washington, D.C., to promote enactment of a multiyear highway and transit authorization.