March 27 (Reuters) – The parent of American Airlines on
Monday sought bankruptcy court approval to throw out labor
contracts, a move that puts new pressure on pilots, flight
attendants and other unionized workers to quickly agree to
concessions.

Chief Executive Tom Horton said in a letter to employees
that the “best outcome” remains negotiated settlements, and
promised to continue working with unions toward that end.

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic
leaders in the U.S. Congress held talks o n M onday over an
extension of transport construction authority that would avert
project shutdowns and give House Speaker John Boehner a shorter
window to resolve Republican divisions over a signature jobs
initiative.

Aides said that Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid and their staffs were discussing how to proceed after
Boehner postponed a House vote on his proposal for a 90-day
renewal of current law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama urged lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pass a bill that would extend funding for infrastructure and transportation projects, warning that failure to do so would hurt U.S. economic recovery.

The U.S. Senate recently passed a transportation bill, but a similar measure is stalled in the House.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – Automakers are quicker
since the 2010 Toyota safety crisis to report defects and
recalls to U.S. regulators, but the Obama administration
believes that substantially higher fines are still needed as a
check against future disclosure lapses.

David Strickland, the government’s top auto safety official
as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), said on Thursday the current maximum
fine of $17 million per case is inadequate.

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) – Republican leaders in the
U.S. House of Representatives agreed on Wednesday to renew
transportation funding temporarily to quiet a rank-and-file
rebellion and give Congress one last chance this year to pass
legislation to finance road, bridge and transit construction.

Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica said he would
propose a funding extension through June, giving House Speaker
John Boehner and fellow top Republicans more time to regroup
after a number of members balked at their transportation
proposal to spend $260 billion over five years.

March 21 (Reuters) – American Eagle, a unit of bankrupt AMR
Corp said on Wednesday it was seeking $75 million in
labor cost savings as part of its restructuring.

The company said in a letter to employees that the cost
reduction would be necessary to justify AMR’s investment in new
aircraft for Eagle, the primary feeder carrier for AMR’s
American Airlines unit.

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – Pet projects known as
earmarks are no longer stuffed into legislation considered by
U.S. lawmakers, but their legacy endures in a transportation
spending proposal grinding its way through the Senate.

A bill in the Republican-controlled House scraps historic
earmarks outright, but the Senate’s plan gives a built-in
advantage to states with top priority road projects funded
through previous earmarks.

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Congress is not likely
resolve differences over pending U.S. transportation legislation
before a temporary law financing road, rail and bridge repair
expires on March 31, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on
Monday.

The deadline has been a key incentive for House and Senate
leaders to complete work on a multi-year, multibillion-dollar
plan that has been slowed by questions about funding and
election-year politics.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican leaders in the House of Representatives may scale back a $260 billion transportation bill in order to quell controversy and improve chances of the measure winning approval in coming weeks.

Sources with knowledge of discussions on Capitol Hill said on Thursday that House leaders may drop their five-year package in favor of shorter and less expensive plans for road, bridge and transit construction.

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers dug in
on Friday for a rough fight over transportation legislation that
was forced off the road by partisanship and skepticism about
where government is going to find the money to pay for
infrastructure improvements.

New uncertainty settled over the House and Senate about
whether members could bridge divisions over issues unrelated to
road, bridge and transit construction and put the
multibillion-dollar legislation back on track.