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WASHINGTON — Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Commerce Committee, said senators on the panel have raised concerns about Scott Darling, the Obama administration’s pick to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

A proposal by the Obama administration to get oil companies to pay a $10-per-barrel fee on oil is unlikely to get Republican support in Congress, transportation budget expert Jack Basso told Transport Topics.

Rep. Reid Ribble intends to retire at the end of this term, the Republican congressman from Wisconsin announced over the weekend.

WASHINGTON — Scott Darling, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, assured a Senate panel at a confirmation hearing the agency will quickly proceed on a range of regulations and studies aimed at improving highway safety, as well as reforming the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

WASHINGTON��— Next month, the National Academy of Sciences will commence its review of a safety performance scoring program for carriers, the top federal trucking regulator told a Senate panel Jan. 20.

President Obama’s much-anticipated State of the Union Address on Jan. 12 focused little on infrastructure and freight transportation concerns, surprising stakeholders still praising last month’s enactment of a five-year highway law that had been six years in the making.