Articles

White House issuing reports on states’ infrastructure needs

The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability. Among them, the administration says there is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard.

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New to DC, Buttigieg looks to build bridges with Biden plan

The former South Bend mayor who became known in the 2020 presidential campaign as “Mayor Pete” has been meeting as transportation secretary with lawmakers of both parties to try to sell a roads, bridges and infrastructure program that President Joe Biden has likened to the building of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.

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Biden’s ‘jobs Cabinet’ to sell infrastructure as GOP resists

President Joe Biden is setting about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet,” including former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, to help in the effort. But the enormity of his task is clear after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to oppose the plan “every step of the way.”

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Biden pick for transportation, Buttigieg, advances in Senate

A Senate panel on Wednesday easily advanced President Joe Biden’s nomination of former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be transportation secretary, setting up a final confirmation vote for a key role in Biden’s push to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and confront climate change.

 

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Barrett joins Supreme Court arguments for the first time

Justice Amy Coney Barrett is expected to join her Supreme Court colleagues on Monday to hear arguments for the first time. Participating in oral arguments will be among the first things Barrett, a former University of Notre Dame law professor, will do after being confirmed last week in a  52-48 virtual party-line vote.

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New track to arrive at ‘reasonable’ rail rates?

The next time you’re stuck in your car watching a train amble across an intersection, think about this: Deregulation is credited with preventing the railroad industry from being run over by truckers, but in places where the rails are the only means of transportation, what should be done to ensure the prices charged by the railroads to the companies shipping products are reasonable?

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Indiana Supreme Court greenlights blocked railroad crossings

A unanimous Indiana Supreme Court sent a message Tuesday to Hoosier motorists stuck at railroad crossings waiting for trains to pass: relax, you’re going to be there awhile. The court struck down a state law limiting blocked crossings to 10 minutes, holding that such regulations were pre-empted by federal law.

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State, railroad argue over blocked crossings before Supreme Court

The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday heard oral arguments in a case to determine whether state or federal law controls how long trains may block road crossings. Norfolk Southern Railway challenged the state’s blocked crossing statute after receiving 23 citations for blocking a crossing for more than 10 minutes.

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