Man on the Move
LaHood Committed to Obama’s Transportation Agenda
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Transportation Policy Briefing
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How will environmental priorities mesh with the nation's infrastructure and economic needs as Congress debates highway reauthorization?
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What does having a Democratic president and greater Democratic majorities in Congress mean for bicyclists?
ROLL CALL: What is the status of this Maglev? Was that just one idea?
LAHOOD: It’s an idea.
ROLL CALL: So the stimulus bill does not order you to do that?
LAHOOD: Absolutely not.
ROLL CALL: In spite of environmental delays and all of this, there really is stuff that’s shovel-ready?
LAHOOD: If you were to interview any of the 43 secretaries of transportation or highway administrators who were in Washington ... I asked them to bring one or two examples, and we went around the room and every one of them had a list of projects that are ready to go that meet all of the environmental standards, no shortcuts.
ROLL CALL: Sign-offs all done and everything?
LAHOOD: Absolutely, absolutely. Mainly because there was such a delay in the last highway bill, and you know, there frankly wasn’t enough money because President [George W.] Bush decided he was going to go for a much lower figure, and the states have not had the money for the match on some of these projects. There is no match required in these. This money goes out the door. There is no match, and they will start working.
ROLL CALL: Will you be able to track the efficiency of their spending? In other words, will you be able to catch a project that is going over budget?
LAHOOD: Absolutely. We’ll have a matrix for all of these projects, and it will be posted on the White House Web site, which will be done by [Office of Management and Budget]. But we’ll feed OMB on a regular basis their information — where the money went, who got it, how many people went to work, is the money being spent on time, more transparency. Any taxpayer can click into this and get the full realm of what’s going on in their state and what projects are being funded and how many people are working and if things are on time.
ROLL CALL: How much more expensive are all these projects going to be because of the “Buy America” provisions in the bill?
LAHOOD: You know, we’re trying to do a little research on that. The Buy America provision is different in the final bill than it was when it was first discussed, and we’re really trying to analyze and figure that out. We’re going to follow the law, but we don’t know how strong the actual Buy America is. We’re trying to evaluate with OMB what it really means. OMB has to weigh in on this also.
ROLL CALL: The Davis-Bacon requirements: Doesn’t that mean that fewer people will actually be hired, but the people who do get hired will be paid wages that in some cases exceed the going rate in their communities?
LAHOOD: Davis-Bacon is part of the federal law. It’s part of the federal requirements for these projects. I’ve heard the arguments as a Member of Congress, I’ve heard the arguments on the other side of Davis-Bacon, but it’s part of the law, and it enables people really to get a wage that’s commensurate with the kind of work that they’re doing. These are very skilled people that are going to be building roads and bridges, and Davis-Bacon provides an opportunity for them to be compensated in a way that reflects the kind of professionalism they bring to the job.
ROLL CALL: Davis-Bacon requires that federal projects pay union wages, union scale.
LAHOOD: That’s correct. They pay the standard that, you know, is the prevailing standard for that particular area.
ROLL CALL: Let’s go to the longer-run plan. Will this administration have an infrastructure plan, a national infrastructure plan?
Schumer Advocates for Many on Panel
Nov. 16, 12 a.m.
As Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson once said of the Joint Economic Committee, “It’s as useless as tits on a bull.” But as that panel’s chairman during the 110th Congress, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) seized the opportunity to elevate the traditionally low-profile post to the forefront of shaping policy. Read Full Article
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