OSHA takes aim at silica standards

July 25, 2014 4:08 pm Leave a comment

To many representatives of the construction industry, OSHA’s proposal to control silica dust at work sites will bear only poisoned fruits: increased costs and onerous regulation.

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US Senate agrees on $11B highway measure

July 23, 2014 1:17 pm Leave a comment

the U.S. Capitol building is seen through the columns on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington. The House is poised to act on a bill that would temporarily patch over a multibillion-dollar pothole in federal highway and transit programs while ducking the issue of how to put the programs on sound financial footing for the long term. The bill by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp cobbles together $10.8 billion in pension tax changes, customs fees and money from a fund to repair leaking underground fuel storage tanks to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund solvent through May 2015. A similar bill is pending in the Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The Senate agreed Wednesday on an $11 billion measure to temporarily fix a multibillion-dollar shortfall in federal highway and transit programs, setting up a vote next week on several alternatives.

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Obama pushes transportation money

July 17, 2014 3:16 pm Leave a comment

President Barack Obama speaks in front of the Interstate 495 bridge over the Christina River near Wilmington, Del., Thursday, July 17, 2014, to announce an initiative to increase private sector investment in the nation's infrastructure. The bridge was closed for emergency repairs last month after the discovery of four tilting support columns, and the federal government is helping pay for repairs. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Barack Obama announced a new program Thursday to attract more private money to help pay to build new roads, bridges and highways as he criticized Congress for refusing to approve a more lasting source of transportation money.

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Critics slam Highway Trust Fund fix

July 16, 2014 3:58 pm Leave a comment

If there's anything that can unite Democrats and Republicans in the partisan swamp of Capitol Hill, it's free money.

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House passes highway bill as deadline looms

July 15, 2014 4:22 pm Leave a comment

With an August deadline looming, the House voted Tuesday to temporarily patch over a multibillion-dollar pothole in federal highway and transit programs while ducking the issue of how to put them on a sound financial footing for the long term.

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Obama to press for action on transportation money (UPDATE)

July 14, 2014 3:34 pm Leave a comment

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at the White House Forum on American Latino Heritage on Wednesday at the Interior Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama is pressing Congress to make a long-term commitment to keep highway and transit aid flowing to states, but lawmakers appear headed for a short-term patch to sustain projects through next May.

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Highway Trust Fund fix advances in House

July 10, 2014 11:28 am Leave a comment

A House committee has taken a step toward keeping highway and transit aid flowing to states just three weeks before transportation programs are forecast to go broke.

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Depletion of Highway Trust Fund looms

July 1, 2014 3:07 pm Leave a comment

President Barack Obama speaks about transportation and the economy, Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at the Georgetown Waterfront Park in Washington. The president said 700,000 jobs could be at risk next year if Congress doesn't quickly agree on how to pay for highway and transit programs. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Gridlock in Washington will lead to gridlock across the country if lawmakers can't quickly agree on how to pay for highway and transit programs, President Barack Obama and his top officials warned Tuesday.

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Fix to highway budget stalls

June 25, 2014 1:34 pm Leave a comment

Construction on I-94 will forge ahead during the holiday weekend, despite most roadwork taking a break for the 4th of July weekend. (File Photo by Scott Anderson)

House Republicans won't support a plan by Senate Democrats to prevent states from facing a cutoff of federal highway and transit aid this summer, a key House committee chairman warned Wednesday, saying the proposal would force a tax increase.

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Senate Democrats unveil $9B for highway bill

June 24, 2014 12:40 pm Leave a comment

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Two senators proposed Wednesday to raise federal gasoline and diesel taxes for the first time in more than two decades as Congress struggles with how to pay for highway and transit programs. Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, and Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, pitched their plan as a bipartisan solution to replenish the federal Highway Trust Fund. That fund is forecast to go broke in late August. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Senate Democrats have unveiled a $9 billion plan to prevent states from facing a cutoff of federal highway construction money as early as this summer.

Tagged with: Highway Trust Fund