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The Obama administration on Jan. 16 announced it would create a municipal bond and approve other proposals to fund big-ticket infrastructure projects, four days before the president’s State of the Union address.

Less than a week after she announced she would not seek another term in the Senate, California Democrat Barbara Boxer urged GOP leaders to turn their attention to funding the country’s aging transportation system.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) this week introduced a bill that would replace the diesel and gas tax with a carbon tax, the latest congressional proposal aimed at boosting transportation dollars ahead of the reauthorization of a major highway law this spring.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Jan. 12 announced that $30 million is available to help states modernize their safety data technologies.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 8 approved legislation that would greenlight the Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting up a contentious debate on the floor of the Senate next week on a measure backed by Republican leaders and opposed by the White House.

As expected, the U.S. Senate on Jan. 8 ratified Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as the next chairman of the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee during the 114th Congress.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, who as the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, has been integral in advancing the most recent highway bills in Congress, announced she will not seek another term in office in 2016.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Jan. 8 he does not think there is sufficient support in his chamber to approve an increase to the federal fuel tax.