Committee Initiatives: Creating Jobs & Saving Taxpayers Money
Creating jobs and saving taxpayers money are top priorities of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as it works to build our nation’s infrastructure.
To accomplish these goals, we must reduce wasteful spending, eliminate bureaucracy, streamline and improve government programs, and more wisely utilize federal resources.
The following are some of the Committee’s major initiatives to provide innovative and cost effective solutions to providing the country with safe, modern and efficient transportation systems, improving our critical infrastructure, restoring our economy, and putting Americans to work.
Click here for the Committee's Summary of Activities for the first session of the 112th Congress.
Click here for the Summary of Activities for the second session of the 112th Congress (through June 2012).
Sitting On Our Assets
A report prepared by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee identifies billions of dollars in potential savings to the taxpayer through improved management of federal assets and the elimination of waste in agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction. Read More »
Eliminating GSA Waste of Taxpayer Dollars
Transportation Committee Chairman Mica, Economic Development Subcommittee Chairman Denham, and Committee Republicans are investigating the waste of taxpayer dollars by the General Services Administration (GSA). Read More »
Creating Jobs by Rebuilding Our Highways and Bridges
On July 6, 2012, legislation was signed into law that dramatically reforms surface transportation programs, cuts red tape in the lengthy project approval process, streamlines the federal bureaucracy, consolidates and eliminates many duplicative or unnecessary programs, and gives states more authority and flexibility to address their diverse transportation needs. This new law will allow states to carry out important highway, bridge and surface transportation projects and ensure long-term jobs in the hard-hit construction industry throughout the country. Read More »
Preventing Expansion of Federal Jurisdiction over Nation's Waters
On June 7, 2012, the Committee approved legislation introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica, Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs and other Members to halt EPA's attempts to illegally expand federal power under the Clean Water Act and potentially extend the government’s regulatory reach to every ditch, puddle and pond in the country. Read More »
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2011
On February 14, 2012, the Committee's major initiative to improve the nation’s airport and aviation infrastructure, create jobs, modernize our antiquated pre-World War II air traffic control system, improve aviation safety, and save taxpayers money through significant reforms of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was signed into law. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 658) sets the long-term federal policy for a vital segment of the nation's economy. Read More »
The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act
On January 3, 2012, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act was signed into law. This Committee initiative strengthens pipeline transportation safety, fill gaps in existing law where necessary, and focuses on directly responding to recent pipeline incidents with balanced and reasonable policies. The measure also ensures the regulatory certainty in pipeline transportation necessary to allow businesses to create jobs. Read More »
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011, approved by the House in November 2011, provides the U.S. Coast Guard with the authorities and programmatic reforms necessary to ensure the service can carry out its important missions, better utilize its resources, and more efficiently replace its aging assets. Continuing its work to authorize the Coast Guard, the Committee also passed H.R. 5887, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Authorization Act of 2012, on June 7, 2012. This bill authorizes the funding for the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2013, 2014 and 2015 at levels that reject the draconian cuts to the Service’s acquisitions program proposed by the Obama Administration. Like H.R. 2838, the bill includes new provisions to ensure parity between the Coast Guard and the other Services and includes needed regulatory relief for small businesses that will protect jobs and encourage growth in the maritime sector. Read More »
Bringing Competition to High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail
The Obama Administration's high-speed rail program squandered billions of dollars and any chance of developing true high-speed rail in the United States. It is time to open the door to private sector competition in high-speed and intercity passenger rail service across the country, including the nation’s Northeast Corridor (NEC). Read More »
Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act
The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 restores the long-standing balance between federal and state partners in regulating the nation's waters, and preserves the states' role and responsibilities in setting water pollution standards. This bill, which passed the House on July 13, 2011, prevents the heavy-handed federal regulatory overreach that stifles economic growth. Read More »
Addressing Empty & Underused Federal Buildings: The Civilian Property Realignment Act
Empty and underutilized federal buildings cost the taxpayers millions of dollars every year. This legislation would establish a framework similar to the BRAC commission to review federal properties and make recommendations for consolidations, co-locations, redevelopment, selling or other actions. The bill will reduce waste, increase the efficiency of the federal government, and produce significant savings for the taxpayer. Read More »
European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act
The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 prohibits U.S. participation in the European Union’s costly Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that would impose new emissions taxes on U.S. and other nations’ air carrier flights to and from Europe, regardless of whether the majority of the flight occurs in EU airspace. Read More »
FEMA & Disaster Program Reform
The FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2011 (H.R. 2903) is legislation that cuts red tape in the programs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reduce the costs of recovering from natural disasters, help communities rebound from disasters more quickly and cost-effectively, and save taxpayers millions of dollars. Read More »
Preventing the Duplicative Regulation of Pesticides
H.R. 872 is legislation to prevent the duplicative and costly regulation of pesticides under the Clean Water Act. This additional permitting requirement would simply add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy to the application of pesticides, already heavily regulated by the EPA. Read More »
Improving the Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was intended to be a lean agency with the flexibility to quickly respond to threats. Instead it has grown from a modestly sized, pre-9/11 force of 16,500 private airport screeners into a massive bureaucracy of more than 65,000. Read More »
Cutting Red Tape: the 437-Day Plan
Red tape and bureaucracy result in years of delay for infrastructure projects across the nation. Expediting the federal project approval process would lead to significant savings and more rapid improvements to our aging and congested infrastructure. The bridge to replace the collapsed I-35 W bridge in Minnesota was contracted to be completed in just 437 days. There is no reason we cannot similarly expedite other projects around the country using a 437-Day plan to build our infrastructure more efficiently. Read More »
Sitting On Our Assets: The Los Angeles Courthouse Project
Vacant, unused and mismanaged federal properties exist all over the country, and the Los Angeles Courthouse project is just one example of the potential for wasting taxpayers' money. Read More »
Uncovering Waste, Fraud & Abuse at Amtrak
With taxpayers subsidizing every ticket nearly $50, it is essential that the Committee conduct vigorous oversight of Amtrak, which has a history of mismanagement and wasting tax dollars.
Improving Transit Safety
The Committee supports strengthening federal standards for transit safety, more enforcement and oversight of those standards, and ensuring that transit agencies have the proper resources, staffing levels and authorities to oversee transit safety. However, an Administration proposal to create a large bureaucracy and put safety in the hands of the federal government could actually weaken the safety of the nation’s transit systems. Read More »
Sitting On Our Assets: The Old Post Office Building
The Old Post Office Building in Washington, DC is an historic, federally-owned but underperforming asset that costs taxpayers millions of dollars every year in operating losses. The Committee held a hearing at this facility to highlight the need for the federal government to stop sitting on its assets and improve the management of federal property. Read More »
