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Harbor commissioners at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are expected to approve a plan next month to spend $46.5 million in new grant funding from the state to fast-track the purchase of up to 500 new liquefied natural gas trucks, officials with both ports said.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee advanced the nominations of several other key administration officials to the full Senate on July 21, including the nomination of Deborah Hersman to lead the National Transportation Safety Board.

A Senate committee last week approved a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration without a provision that would make it easier for some employees at FedEx Corp. to unionize.

Diesel prices have dropped almost 50% since record levels last year, but fleets continue to work on cutting fuel costs, one of their largest expenses.

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats continued to spar over how best to address the nation’s road transportation needs, as the Senate and House moved on opposing paths.

U.S. retail diesel prices dropped 4.6 cents last week to $2.496 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported — the fourth straight decline — but rising crude oil costs will soon lead to a reversal of that trend, a department analyst predicted.

House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said he was “deeply troubled” over a claim by truck safety inspectors that proposed legislation requiring the purging of flammable materials from tanker wetlines would be “difficult, if not impossible,” to enforce.

U.S. consumer confidence rose this month for the first time in five months, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.