LSN Weekly Federal Mobility Digest

December 6, 2024

House GOP gives surprise waiver to Sam Graves – The powerful House GOP steering committee granted Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) a waiver to stay on as the chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday, two sources confirmed to Axios.

USDOT’s Marad Awards $5 Million in Marine Highway Grants – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $4.85 million in grants to five marine highway projects across the nation via the United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP).
The Government Push To Change Road Construction Materials To Impact Climate Change – Combating climate change through greener asphalt, steel and concrete for roads is the goal of a new federal highway grant program giving billions to states and a companion agency initiative to issue emissions’ labels for transportation materials.

DOE can and should use hydrogen hubs funding to build out transportation corridors – DOE should use its authority under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to allocate hubs money to hydrogen distribution and delivery infrastructure along transportation corridors that will receive clean hydrogen from hubs.
Federal transportation officials aim to bridge gaps’ in OT cybersecurity – From supporting aircraft systems to ensuring railway signals don’t falter, the operational technology that underpins transportation networks across the country is critical to daily life – and highly vulnerable to threats.
Pennsylvania Props Up Transit Systems Across State – Big city transit systems receive more than half their operational funds from the state. That’s a far higher percentage than Boston, Chicago, or New York.
Amtrak Sets All-Time Ridership Record in Fiscal Year 2024 – Amtrak achieved an all-time ridership record in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), welcoming a historic 32.8 million customers as demand for passenger rail service continues to grow in markets across the nation. Amtrak also invested an unprecedented $4.5 billion into major infrastructure and fleet projects – creating the largest boom in rail construction in Amtrak’s history.