Press Releases

Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08) released the following comment on recent actions by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

               “I am proud of the efforts from the Transportation Committee to create jobs and get Americans back to work.  These bills provide certainty to the transportation industry and will benefit Indiana in the long term.  I am also proud of the fact that neither bill includes earmarks.

            “I’m pleased to have worked closely with Chairman Mica on the FAA re-authorization by stopping a rule, proposed by President Obama, that would have put 40,000 jobs in Indiana at risk.  Both the House and Senate leadership realized the dangers of this rule and agreed with the Indiana delegation about our concerns.

“The American Energy and Infrastructure Act, also known as the Highway bill, will give INDOT and Indiana job creators the long-term certainty to plan for construction projects.  It also removes many layers of bureaucratic red tape, that often has resulted in federal transportation projects taking over 15 years to complete and cost taxpayers billions of additional dollars. We have operated the FAA and Highway programs through short-term extensions for the past several years and that is no way to run the government.”

Chairman Mica (FL-07) states:

“Passing the FAA Reauthorization and marking up the surface transportation bill are both positive actions for government reform and getting Americans back to work.  I would like to commend Dr. Bucshon on his contributions to both bills, specifically in helping ensure the safe transport of lithium batteries on airlines and in fighting back burdensome and costly rules on shippers, as well as being instrumental in developing many aspects of the highway bill.  I was honored to host a Listening Session in Indianapolis a year ago and the input provided by Hoosiers helped the committee understand the need for a long-term extension.”

Background:

Congressman Bucshon is the only member of the Indiana delegation on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Act, is a five year reauthorization of the surface transportation bill with funding levels at $260 billion.  The text in H.R. 7 can be found here.

For H.R. 7, Congressman Bucshon:

• Inserted key language that will allow a Governor to have more of input on an interstate project of statewide significance in their state
  • The House version preserves all of Indiana’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and their necessary role in local transportation planning
  • No MPO should have the authority to unilaterally stop interstate projects impacting millions of Americans
  • The US Senate version of the Transportation bill would eliminate MPOs that serve a population lower than 250,000 citizens, eliminating over 75% of Indiana’s MPOs
• Included a bill on state flexibility on spending during times of emergency - H.R.3294, State Transportation Emergency Flexibility Act of 2011
  • Congressman Bucshon introduced this bill on November 1, 2011; full text of the bill can be found here
  • Including this bill in H.R. 7 will set the new national standard on how a state can proactively solve transportation emergencies 
• Congressman Bucshon also introduced and passed an amendment during committee markup benefiting Indiana’s RV industry
  • Amendment would allow RVs to travel more uniformly with buses on our nation’s roads and bridges
  • This will allow Indiana companies to continue making RVs at their current standards and allow American families to travel without fear of violating federal law regarding RVs

H.R. 658, FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, is a 4 year re-authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, giving long term certainty to Indiana’s aviation industry.  It passed by a vote of 248 to 169.

For the FAA Reauthorization, Congressman Bucshon:

• Led a bi-partisan delegation letter to oppose the banning of lithium batteries and prevented them from being labeled as hazardous materials
• This labeling, proposed by President Obama, would have put 40,000 Hoosier jobs in jeopardy at over 300 medical device companies in Indiana, including 1,200 employees of Boston Scientific in Spencer, IN
  • The agreement reached between the House and Senate would require the Department of Transportation adopt the same safety standards as those set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) when it comes to air cargo transport of lithium batteries

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