Archive for the ‘Ray Lahood’ tag
Lahood gets key committee vote to become secretary of transportation
Ray Lahood, the former Peoria congressman, has gotten the green light from the Senate Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which essentially seals his nomination as secretary of transportation. Full Senate has to approve, but it’s considered a formality. Among his priorities:
- Move forward quickly with regulations to implement new fuel economy rules for cars and trucks. The department is required to set rules by April 1, 2009, if the new requirements are to go into effect by 2011. Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters proposed but did not finalize rules requiring the next generation of cars and trucks to meet a fleet average of 31. 6 miles per gallon by 2015.
- Seek a resolution to the bitter labor dispute between the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic controllers, who have been working without a contract for several years and are retiring in record numbers.
Hard to see how this doesn’t give Caterpillar more clout in the Beltway.