The House of Representatives Appropriations Committee issued a draft of its fiscal year 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies or THUD funding bill on May 22, which provides a total of $86.6 billion in funds to the U.S. Department of Transportation – $167 million above enacted FY 2019 funding and $3.7 billion […]

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced the Rebuild America Act of 2019 on May 22, which would incrementally increase the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel by five cents a year over five years, index those taxes to inflation, and “establish Congressional intention” to replace those taxes with “a more equitable, stable source of funding” […]

The Federal Transit Administration announced grants selections totaling approximately $9.6 million for 37 medical transit projects on May 22, while also highlighting workforce training programs initiated by SunLine Transit Agency that’s preparing its employees to manage future technologies, such as all-electric buses. [Above photo by TriMet.] The FTA noted that its Access and Mobility Partnership grants are focused on […]

A new report issued by IBM Security on May 21 indicates that the travel industry and its customers are “increasingly the targets of cyberattacks” as criminals seek to monetize highly valuable travel data, while the transportation industry as a whole is now a “priority target” for cybercriminals as it now ranks as the second-most attacked […]

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is searching for a deputy director, a position located at the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., which will be the second most senior position on AASHTO’s leadership team. More detail regarding the deputy director’s role can be found on AASHTO’s job site at: https://jobs.transportation.org/job/aashto-washington-dc-16-deputy-director/ The deputy director […]

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao gave a keynote address at the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony in Ogden, Utah, on May 11; an event that celebrated the completion of America’s First Transcontinental Railroad. “The transcontinental railroad was a tremendous feat of engineering, innovation and manpower that was key to the economic development […]

In a 25-page letter issued on May 16, the Federal Railroad Administration officially “deobligated” more than $928 million in funding given to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for “failure to make reasonable progress” on the state’s proposed north-south high-speed train program; a project curtailed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Feb. 12. [Above photo […]

The National Rural Transit Assistance Program hosted a webinar on May 14 to provide resources to help transit agencies develop a “roadmap” to prevent and disrupt human trafficking operations. Webinar speakers Kristen Joyner, executive director of the South West Transit Association, and Annie Sovcik – program Director for Busing on the Lookout, which is a […]

The Senate officially confirmed Jeffrey Rosen (seen above), formerly the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to be deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice by a vote of 52 to 45, with three abstentions, on May 16. President Trump originally nominated Rosen to be the next deputy attorney general on […]

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement on May 15 it plans to award $779 million in supplemental funding for infrastructure grants to 127 airports in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. This “supplemental” funding is in addition to the $3.31 billion already awarded via the agency’s Airport Improvement Program during fiscal year 2018, […]