Somebody still needs to fix that leak in the Capitol building.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) delivered a two-page outline of what he called a “transformational” reauthorization of the six-year highway bill, and much of it has already spilled into the media mainstream.
Oberstar is expected to deliver a final draft to the House of Representatives by June 1, but here are some of the highlights:

* There is a call for the creation of a new undersecretary or assistant secretary for intermodalism. This official would hold monthly meetings with all modal administrators;
* The DOT’s 108 programs will be consolidated into four “major formula programs”: critical asset preservation, highway safety improvement, surface transportation program and congestion mitigation and air quality improvement. The surface transportation section suggests that metropolitan planning organizations receive sub-allocations based on population;
* DOTs would be asked to hit performance goals, and the legislation calls for agencies to design six-year targets for each of the four performance categories. Reports would be submitted annually and data would be made available online; and
* There is a call for “transit equity.” Currently the federal government only pays for half of transit projects, while road and bridge work receives 80% support.

Sources say Oberstar’s reauthorization plan will ask for up to $450 billion in government funding. The current highway bill, SAFETEA-LU, expires on Sept. 30.