Senators unveil localized transport funding bill

The “Innovation in Surface Transportation Act of 2014” would form local panels to vote on transport fund appropriation.    Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., unveiled a bill Friday to allow local officials to compete more effectively for federal transportation funding by shifting the selection process for funding projects to a panel of local stakeholders instead of federal officials.
   In introducing the “Innovation in Surface Transportation Act of 2014” — which counts among its co-sponsors Senators Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Mark Begich, D-Alaska — Wicker stated that more localized control of transportation dollars would make it so “leaders could implement the most targeted and cost-effective solutions to meet unique and urgent infrastructure needs.”
   Booker added, “As a former mayor, I understand local leaders are often in the best position to make sound, cost-effective investment decisions.”