On March 14, the U.S. Senate passed its version of surface transportation reauthorization, termed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (“MAP-21”), on a substantially bipartisan vote of 74 to 22.

At a Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on February 29, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) expressed to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar the growing opposition and dwindling support...

On March 1, the U.S. Green Building Council released the third draft of its “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” building standard, LEED 2012, which included a peculiar criterion for “responsible extraction of raw materials”

On February 2, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee amended and reported out its Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, known formally as the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (HR 7), striking out, by amendment, language which would have authorized states to have the right to opt in to a 97,000-pound / 6-axle configuration for conventional semi-trucks, the terms FRA and our allies in other organizations and coalitions had advocated.  The amendment to strike the provision authorizing truck weight (and truck size) flexibility, which T&I Chairman John Mica (R-Florida) had included in the Chairman’s Mark, substitutes a provision for a three-year study of the safety and road-and-bridge wear impacts of a variety of size and weight configurations, as well as any changes in patterns of freight hauling, which such changes might bring about.