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Tag: mica
Roadbuilding
Uh oh, somebodyās out of touch on the gas tax
If something is unpopular but beneficial to the American public, do you as a member of Congress (a) support it, or (b) check the polls because sometimes whatās good for the country could get a person unelected. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backs a fuel tax increase because, as President Reagan once said before he [ā¦]
February 14, 2013
Roadbuilding
Whispering the T Word
TAX! Nothing like shouting a three-letter word ending in X to get your attention. But no, weāre not talking income tax. The gas tax is back on a table in Washington. The 18.3 cents a gallon tax, un-indexed and unchanged in almost 20 years, is the now inadequate basis of our highway system funding. Itās [ā¦]
December 5, 2012
Roadbuilding
Amtrakās post hammer-and-sickle years
Would Amtrak work if it was privately owned? In the end its not only the private nature of the ownership thatās important, itās who that owner is. Private ownership, per se, is only part of the equation. So who in their right mind would want to own Amtrak? House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman John [ā¦]
September 28, 2012
Home
Chez Amtrak.
From the āspeaks for itselfā department: Over the last 10 years, losses to the taxpayers from Amtrakās food and beverage service have added up to more than $833 million. Ā Every $9.50 cheeseburger on Amtrak is subsidized $16.50 by the taxpayers, and every Pepsi sold for $2 costs the taxpayers $3.40. This from hearings at [ā¦]
August 7, 2012
Roadbuilding
Mark this urgent! Until we lose interest.
Whereās the urgency? After the I-35W bridge fell into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in August 2007, virtually everyone was jumping up and down about making sure our bridges were safe and no expense should be spared in getting the job done. But it wasnāt done; and isnāt being done. I remember talking to Minnesotan [ā¦]
August 2, 2012
Home
Reauthorization ā first glimpses, second guesses
So compromise wins. So it should; thatās what a Senate/House conference committees does. But looking at the first details of the new reauthorization bill, itās impossible not to feel that this is a compromise that could have happened way sooner. Much of it is simply dumping Senate clauses. Not too much discussion needed here because [ā¦]
July 3, 2012
Home
The Other Side of the Glass Door
I had a dog once that loved to sunbath indoors, resting beside a sliding glass patio door. Outside would come strolling the neighborhood tortoiseshell cat, flop herself down on the other side of the glass and languidly do her own sunbathing. My dog went nuts, barking, scratching, clawing and demonstrating 50 ways of tearing a [ā¦]
July 2, 2012
Construction Equipment
Letās say reauthorization was a simple thing
It could be a really interesting week in the surface transportation reauthorization debate in the Congressional conference committee. If you step way, way back from it, itās possible to argue that the basics of an agreement are there on the one hand for a clean, sensible, no frills, hard-working bill ā and a series of [ā¦]
June 10, 2012
Safety
Mica, Rahall and Ribble to speak at the TCC Fly-In
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.), and freshman Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) will share their perspectives May 30 on the pending surface transportation reauthorization bill during the 2012 Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Washington, D.C., āfly-in.āĀ All three are members of the highway/transit bill conference committee. More than [ā¦]
May 22, 2012
Roadbuilding
About the small print Congressman
Next Monday, April 16, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is back in D.C. after a well-deserved (sic) break to consider finalizing a reauthorization bill. Thereās not a whole lot of optimism here. The Senateās two-year bill is waiting in the wings but Republicans in the House are unlikely to go for it, again. They [ā¦]
April 11, 2012
Roadbuilding
Civic Lessons
Watching the reauthorization wheels go round and round remains one of the most frustrating occupations in our industry. The Senate Bill creeps ahead after some extraneous amendments have been hurdled. The House Republicans are now looking at a heavily reworked bill, and one that seems to have as much support as the pre-worked bill. Instead [ā¦]
March 1, 2012
Roadbuilding
Let āem have it this week!
Iām repeating myself, I know, but I want to urge as many of you as possible to take advantage of this weekās Congressional recess. Members are back in their districts and this is an election year. Put a little heat on them, a little pressure. Or, preferably, a lot. Congress has dithered and dithered when [ā¦]
February 20, 2012
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