Republican and Democrat leaders of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hailed full Senate passage this week of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2016 by a vote of 95-3. READ MORE

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske directed the issuance of a detention order against cargo imported from China because the shipper engaged in the use of forced labor. READ MORE

Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP) proposal to merge with Norfolk Southern (NS) came to an end on April 11th following a barrage of negative comments filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in advance of any specific merger plan. In reaction to CP’s announcement they were ending their pursuit of NS, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) said the proposed merger was bad for America and bad for rail shippers. READ MORE

Late last week the League’s Executive Director, Jennifer Hedrick, met with a team from the General Accountability Office tasked with conducting a study of the implications of freight rail “bundled contracts”.  The study was mandated by the STB Reauthorization Act passed in December.  Hedrick was accompanied by the League’s General Counsel, Karyn Booth, and Senior Policy Advisor Bruce Carlton. READ MORE

At a hearing on Thursday April 14th, the U.S. Congress was asked to intervene in the debate some U.S. exporters are having with containership operators on the implementation of the “verified gross mass” (VGM) rule adopted two years ago by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).  The Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation clearly declined to make this a matter for the Congress. READ MORE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said food safety rule changes finalized April 5 will help prevent food contamination during transportation. The new regulations will require anyone involved in transporting human and animal food by truck or rail to follow best practices for properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads and properly protecting food during transit. READ MORE

BNSF Railway (BN) is considering terminating plans to invest $500 million to build an intermodal rail facility near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a project known as the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG). READ MORE

Kansas City Southern Railway announced plans to invest approximately $20 million this year in construction and improvement projects on its main line from Kansas through Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and northwest Louisiana — a line segment that is a key component of the carrier’s network. READ MORE

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has designated three new marine highway projects that serve New Orleans, Chicago and the Great Lakes. READ MORE

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the names of 10 non-federal officials appointed to the newly formed Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program Formula Working Group. READ MORE