RE:House Subcommittee Meetings
Like you, I am bullishly optomistic that DOT will need to publish new regulations by May 12th but have always wondered how the below happend and what has really changed (obviously the new rail spills but there where plenty befor the Jan deadline) requiring DOT to get to the finish line?
Congress approved the 2015 $1.1 Trillion budget with the mandate for “DOT to deliver a final rule for new, safer oil tank car design standards by Jan. 15, 2015, and require that all rail carriers put in place comprehensive oil spill response plans.”
As we all know, DOT missed this deadline which they've been mulling for years.
I really don’t understand the convoluted way politics works but have no idea how Congress could mandate a deadline to DOT attached to budget approval and DOT simply ignored Congress. Doesn’t Congress have authority to suspend DOT funding until they publish those required changes or would that make too much sense?