DOT nominees confirmation hearing goes smoothly
Foxx promises to focus on safety, efficiency, expansion of transportation
Both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Transportation Committee seemed pleased with the outcome of the confirmation hearing for Transportation secretary nominee Anthony Foxx, according to The Hill.
I adjourn this hearing on the presumption that you will ride the fast rail right to the secretaryship, said committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said that the nomination appeared noncontroversial.
Foxx listed safety, efficiency and expansion of the transportation network as his top priorities. He said he would try to improve current infrastructure before asking for money for new roads and transit. Sen. Rockefeller urged Foxx to fight for transportation funding, as outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood has done.
The current two-year transportation bill achieves many things that I think are importantbut clearly we need a longer surface transportation bill, Foxx said. LaHood recently called the bill, which expires in September 2014, a little chintzy. Part of the problem is that falling revenues from the gas tax, which hasnt been raised in many years, no longer cover road and transit needs. The nations infrastructure is badly in need of repair and recently received a grade of D from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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