Congress has passed a bill that is designed to add more safety inspectors at aircraft factories and to give air travelers automatic refunds for canceled or long-delayed flights.

Congress is taking up key aviation legislation just after close calls between planes at airports in New York and Texas.

Until Wednesday, few travelers had heard of a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM.

House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year.

Aspiring Republican candidates are jumping at two open Missouri U.S. congressional seats.

Inflation is taking a toll on infrastructure projects across the U.S. Rising prices for materials such as asphalt, steel and iron pipes are driving up the costs to build roads, bridges, rail lines and water mains.

The federal government has a new warning to states seeking billions of dollars from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law to widen roads: You must protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists or risk losing the money.

The Democratic-led House has approved a sizable $715 billion transportation bill.

President Joe Biden will unveil his $2 trillion infrastructure plan and the plan aims to revitalize U.S. transportation infrastructure, water systems, broadband and manufacturing, among other goals. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)WASHINGTON – Even before President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, congressional committees were laying the groundwork for a major public works investment with the goal of passage over the summer. Lawmakers can begin making their earmark requests starting Thursday with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is working on a roads and transit bill. Still, Democratic lawmakers and the White House are holding out the prospect for generating some bipartisan support even if that looks increasingly unlikely. “The president’s blueprint is a multitrillion-dollar partisan shopping list of progressive priorities, all broadly categorized as ‘infrastructure’ and paid for with massive, job-killing tax increases,” Graves said.

President Joe Biden will unveil his $2 trillion infrastructure plan and the plan aims to revitalize U.S. transportation infrastructure, water systems, broadband and manufacturing, among other goals. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)WASHINGTON – Even before President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, congressional committees were laying the groundwork for a major public works investment with the goal of passage over the summer. Lawmakers can begin making their earmark requests starting Thursday with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is working on a roads and transit bill. Still, Democratic lawmakers and the White House are holding out the prospect for generating some bipartisan support even if that looks increasingly unlikely. “The president’s blueprint is a multitrillion-dollar partisan shopping list of progressive priorities, all broadly categorized as ‘infrastructure’ and paid for with massive, job-killing tax increases,” Graves said.

Buttigieg says America's infrastructure needs exceed $1 trillion and that other countries like China are pulling ahead. Congress just passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, but Buttigieg told lawmakers that a broader economic recovery will require a national commitment to fix and transform America’s infrastructure. “A transportation bill needs to be a transportation bill — not the Green New Deal,” said Missouri Rep. Sam Graves. We can do this.”AdAt the same time, DeFazio said an infrastructure bill will need to focus on the challenges of the 21st century, a nod to climate change. Work on this year’s infrastructure bill and other green efforts has already begun in full force with committee hearings, closed-door meetings and legislative initiatives.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday that an infrastructure plan expected soon from President Joe Biden will offer a “once in a century” opportunity to remake transportation in the United States, where cars and highways are no longer king. “But I’ll add there are some things that need to be reduced ... sometimes roads need to go on a diet." People also are shifting to other modes of transportation, such as bicycles or scooters, for shorter trips. During the presidential campaign, Biden laid the groundwork by proposing $2 trillion to address infrastructure and climate change. Buttigieg made clear his work on the Biden team is just getting started.

A dirty word for many Republicans is making the rounds on Capitol Hill -- earmarks. It's a question that's vexing Republicans as they consider whether to join a Democratic push to revive earmarks, the much-maligned practice where lawmakers direct federal spending to a specific project or institution back home. Democratic appropriators in the House see a solution and are proposing a revamped process allowing lawmakers to submit public requests for “community project funding” in federal spending bills. The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, said earmarks would not increase the amount of money spent in a bill. “That’s something I feel pretty strongly about.”Norman worries that earmarks would be used to entice Republicans to vote for bills with expensive price tags.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden tried to maintain bipartisan momentum for a new infrastructure program by meeting Thursday with Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the White House. The meeting was about “what we’re gonna do to make sure we once again lead the world across the board on infrastructure," Biden said. The prospect of funding roads, bridges, ports, broadband and other infrastructure is a chance for Biden to rebuild his relationship with Republicans. Biden met Thursday with eight members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a follow-up to a February 11 meeting with senators on infrastructure. “Second, a transportation bill needs to be a transportation bill that primarily focuses on fundamental transportation needs, such as roads and bridges.

Biden and his team have begun discussions on the possible outlines of an infrastructure package with members of Congress, particularly mindful that Texas' recent struggles with power outages and water shortages after a brutal winter storm present an opportunity for agreement on sustained spending on infrastructure. At a conference with state and local highway officials Thursday, he referred to the often-promised, never-achieved mega-initiative on roads, bridges and the like from the Trump administration. Much of America's infrastructure — roads, bridges, public drinking and water systems, dams, airports, mass transit systems and more — is in need of major restoration after years of underfunding, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Democrats passed a $1.5 trillion package in the House last year, but it went nowhere with the Trump administration and the Republican-led Senate. Rep. Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told the AP that he foresees a comprehensive House package that will go beyond roads, bridges and public transit.

Democrats hailed the House bill, which goes far beyond transportation to fund schools, health care facilities, public utilities and affordable housing. The White House promised a veto if the measure reaches the president's desk. No formal proposal has emerged, although the White House has suggested the next virus response bill could include an infrastructure component. The centerpiece of the House legislation is a nearly $500 billion, 5-year surface transportation plan for roads, bridges and railways. The White House said in its veto threat that the proposal is heavily skewed toward programs that would disproportionately benefit Americas urban areas."