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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced legislation to create a $10 billion infrastructure bank that would use loans and loan guarantees to encourage private investment in transportation projects.

House Republicans and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro sparred over the 34-hour restart provision of the new hours-of-service rule for truck drivers at a hearing last week, with some members accusing her agency of “arrogance” and slowness in producing a congressionally required study on the rule.

A bill requiring companies to track the distribution of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals was approved by Congress last week.

Pennsylvania state lawmakers gave final approval Nov. 21 to a transportation spending bill that will raise $2.4 billion more annually for the state’s roads, bridges and transit systems.

Just four months into the federal hours-of-service rules on rest breaks, carriers said they have had to hire more drivers, pay higher wages, buy more rigs, juggle work schedules and lower customer expectations of service.

WASHINGTON — The federal government’s main source of transportation funding is headed for its own “fiscal cliff” unless Congress acts to pay for infrastructure needs that are critical to the economy, a transportation official said Nov. 21 during an American Highway Users Alliance conference.

Trucking companies using the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Pre-Employment Screening Program reduced their crash rates by 15%, with midsize carriers seeing even greater improvements, according to a recent FMCSA study.