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TxDOT tries to mend rifts in Congress

By Bennett Roth and Stewart Powell

From the Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Texas Department of Transportation, long viewed as hyperpartisan and arrogant by some members of the state's congressional delegation, has been trying to soften its image by reaching out to lawmakers of both parties in the nation's capital.

But while state transportation officials are having some success in easing the personal animus, they still face a stiff challenge in selling their policy agenda to the state's elected officials in Washington.

Many Texans on the Potomac cringe at the agency's embrace of toll roads, the controversies surrounding the Trans-Texas Corridor and TxDOT's resistance to many of the highway earmarks they deliver to constituents.

"I think it's a marriage that's on the rocks," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "TxDOT has burned some bridges with the Texas delegation."

The charm offensive comes as Congress begins work on the reauthorization of the massive transportation legislation that expires in 2009. The reauthorization effort will chart priorities for federal highway spending and for programs into the next decade.

Transportation officials in Texas, who have been warning of highway funding shortfalls, hope to increase their share of federal dollars, which amounted to $3.6 billion in 2006. But they also want the flexibility to tap other sources of revenue, such as toll roads and private leasing of highways.

TxDOT has a lot of animosity to overcome. Democrats hold a grudge against the agency for ignoring them during the years of GOP dominance in the House and for using state taxpayer dollars to hire a lobbyist linked to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

"They bought the Kool Aid and thought Republicans would be in the permanent majority," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, referring to the GOP lobbyists hired by TxDOT. "It is no secret they didn't talk to Democrats."

Thawing relations

Lawmakers say the thaw in relations with state highway officials began last fall when the late Ric Williamson, the hard-charging and very partisan chairman of the state Transportation Commission, flew to Washington to make peace with the delegation after Democrats regained control of Congress. That effort continued after Williamson's death in December.

"There may be hard feelings about things that happened in the past, but we have significant challenges in the future," said Deirdre Delisi, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to lead the five-member Transportation Commission, which oversees TxDOT and the state's extensive highway and bridge system,

TxDOT also has taken action that appears to be aimed at placating Texas Democrats and acknowledging the party will likely remain in control of Congress for the near future.

In February, the agency quietly ended outside lobbying contracts, worth $117,692 a month, including one held by the Federalist Group, which is run by Drew Maloney, DeLay's former chief of staff.

Democrats had been miffed at the contract in part because Maloney had contributed $15,500 to Republican congressional candidates — including $5,500 to DeLay — since 2003, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Maloney also gave $750 to an opponent of Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, the top Texas Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

The same month it canceled the outside contracts, the transportation agency hired Rebecca Reyes, the daughter of Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, as one of its two staffers in its Washington office. Silvestre Reyes is an ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, who named the Texan to head the House Intelligence Committee.

The moves, said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman, were not taken for political reasons. He said that the outside contracts were terminated because of budget cuts and that Rebecca Reyes was hired because she has a background in lobbying.

Silvestre Reyes defended the hiring of his daughter, saying she "went through the same rigorous hiring process as every other applicant who applies to work for the state of Texas."

Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, said it was "probably true" that TxDOT had experienced problems adapting to the new Democratic congressional leadership.

"There has been an expression of interest in coming here and building relationships," he said, "but I (still) haven't seen that happen at this point."

Lawmakers from both parties have a litany of grievances about the transportation agency's approach to Congress.

Edwards complained that agency officials "have been instructed to blame Congress for the inability to improve highway projects." In reality, he said, federal spending for highways in Texas has risen faster than state spending.

The friction with state highway officials came about, Poe said, "when TxDOT wanted to tell us what should be built in Texas. It doesn't work that way."

The Trans-Texas Corridor

Many lawmakers do not support plans for the Trans-Texas Corridor, envisioned by Perry as a project stretching from Texarkana to Mexico that would be operated by a private consortium. The corridor would include toll lanes for cars and trucks; tracks for freight and passenger trains; and space for pipelines, power lines and communications.

Landowners and local governments whose property would be affected by the project have angrily protested the routes in a series of town hall meetings.

"It is public enemy number one in my district," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands.

Some lawmakers have signaled a willingness to meddle with plans for the corridor.

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, has introduced a bill that would prohibit federal funding for the project. The proposal is backed by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, whose district runs from Austin to western Harris County and is a hotbed of opposition to the corridor.

As a pre-emptive move, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, inserted a provision in an appropriations bill that barred the state from putting tolls on existing highways for a year. The bill subsequently became law.

Texas' other senator, Republican John Cornyn, who is up for re-election, said he doesn't believe the corridor is a good idea.

"Obviously, we need more transportation infrastructure in Texas," he said. "But I don't think we need to plow up a bunch of new ground on private property across the state to get there."

Earmarks criticized

Another area of dispute has been the willingness of lawmakers to insert earmarks — orders funding projects — into transportation bills.

Lippincott said the earmarks, totaling $208 million for the state, often force the delay of other projects.

But some Democrats, such as Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, believe the earmarks are necessary to ensure a fair distribution of state highway funds.

"I'm going to support earmarks as long as I am here breathing," Johnson said.

Ned Holmes, a transportation commissioner and Houston businessman, said he believes the rift between TxDOT and the Democrats can be repaired through better communication.

Although he is a Republican, Holmes said he has remained on good terms with congressional Democrats and noted that he contributed $2,000 to Edwards' re-election campaign in March.

For years, Holmes said, "TxDOT was one of the most respected state agencies.

High gas prices boost bus business

By James MacPherson

From Associated Press

PEMBINA, N.D. (AP) — Soaring fuel prices are proving to be a pain for most people in the country, but they may have helped save the jobs of hundreds of workers in North Dakota's oldest town.

The Motor Coach Industries plant is the biggest employer in Pembina — about a quarter the residents in the town of 640 work there. Four years ago, it was struggling to stay open.

Now, as more people across the U.S. shun gas-guzzling vehicles for public transportation, bus ridership is up. Transit systems from Houston to New York City are mulling expansion to keep pace.

"The bus industry is healthy right now — it's in a good place," said Michael Melaniphy, a Motor Coach Industries Inc. vice president.

It's a turnaround from just a few years ago when bus sales were down and the company was laying off workers, making the future of the Pembina plant uncertain.

MCI will begin delivering the first of 102 hybrid diesel-electric buses this summer to Houston's transit system, under a contract worth about $80 million. Another 126 diesel-only buses are being shipped out to New York City's transit system in a deal worth $67 million.

Mike Ohmann owns a hardware store in Pembina, a town that got its start in 1797 as a fur-trading post and was known as the first white settlement in the Dakotas. Ohmann said his business has gone up and down with the fortunes of the bus plant.

Layoffs hurt the economy in the region, since many the workers commute from within a 75-mile radius of town, Ohmann said.

"When there are layoffs, it means nobody is putting another nickel into their home," Ohmann said. "Losing that plant would be devastating."

Motor Coach Industries, based in Schaumburg, Ill., makes buses for public transportation and motor coaches that are used as luxury recreational vehicles.

MCI's main plant is in Winnipeg while the Pembina assembly plant is 60 miles away — just over the border in northeastern North Dakota to satisfy conditions of the federal Buy America Act, which requires buses involved in federal contracts be produced in the United States.

MCI blamed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 for hurting the tourism industry and putting the skids on bus sales. The state gave the company a $12 million package in 2003 that included federal job training money and low-interest loans to help keep the Pembina plant open.

The number of employees slid to 88 in January 2004, the lowest level since the company opened in the mid-1960s. MCI was turning out about a bus daily then. At its peak, it was making about eight buses a day, running three shifts a day, seven days a week.

The Pembina plant currently makes about three buses daily, with a work force of about 250 people, said Patricia Plodzeen, a company spokeswoman in Illinois. There are no plans to increase the work force beyond that, she said.

Plodzeen said the 45-foot long, 55-seat hybrid buses are being produced in Winnipeg with the final assembly in Pembina.

The hybrids run on either electric or diesel or a combination, depending on the speed of the bus, Melaniphy said.

The hybrid coaches use less fuel than standard diesel buses, create less pollution and run quieter; emissions are reduced by about 30 percent.

MCI's Pembina plant will begin delivering the first of the 102 hybrid diesel-electric buses this summer to Houston's transit system.

It is MCI's first major contract for hybrid buses, Melaniphy said.

Fifty buses are slated for delivery to the transit system by the end of this year, and 52 more are due next year, said Andrew Skabowski, Houston Metro's senior director of bus maintenance.

Houston Metro has a fleet of 1,210 buses, including 238 hybrids with the addition of the new MCI buses, which will be used to carry "park and ride commuters" for up to 40 miles, Skabowski said.

The MCI hybrids cost about $730,000 each, or about $180,000 more than a similarly equipped diesel bus, Skabowski said.

"The fuel economy savings augments the cost differential," Skabowski said.

MCI delivered four prototype hybrid buses to the transit agency in New Jersey five years ago and those buses are still in use.

Toronto's transit system also has placed an order for a pair of the buses, Plodzeen said.

The New York City Transit Authority claims to operate the largest hybrid bus fleet in the world, with 548, though none are from MCI.

Spokesman Charles Seaton said the transit authority will use the 126 diesel-only MCI coaches, which are more efficient for long distances.

Ohmann, the hardware store owner, said it doesn't matter if the company sells hybrid buses, or the traditional ones, as long as something is rolling off the assembly line.

"When they make more buses, it's excellent news," Ohmann said. "I'm breathing a sigh of relief right now."

Perry picked a puppet

The following is an editorial from the San Antonio Express-News:

Perhaps Gov. Rick Perry is right. Perhaps Deirdre Delisi is the most qualified person in Texas to lead the state Transportation Commission. There's no denying that the Duke University graduate, who also has a master's degree in international policy studies from Stanford University, is a very bright and competent individual.

But there's also no getting around the fact that the primary reason Perry tapped the 35-year-old Austin resident to head the commission is that she worked for him for nine years as chief of staff, senior deputy chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and director of Perry's 2002 gubernatorial campaign, as well as serving on his staff when he was lieutenant governor and working in his campaign for that office.

In a February interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the no-nonsense chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, offered his opinion about the rumored appointment.

“We don't need political hacks in that position,” he said. “We need people who understand the business. We need people who understand transportation. We don't need someone who's unpopular with the Legislature.”

Major missteps and public relations fiascos have destroyed public confidence in the Transportation Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation. The interim chairmanship of Hope Andrade, after the sudden death last year of Ric Williamson, had begun to repair some of that damage. The selection of a chairman based on cronyism will further erode public trust.

What makes Delisi's appointment more galling is that Perry is replacing Andrade on the commission. The move means that between the chairman and four commissioners, none lives in South Texas, denying an often-neglected region representation on the crucial commission.

A governor who wasn't tone deaf to public criticism wouldn't make that kind of mistake. Unfortunately, it's what Texans have come to expect from the increasingly oblivious leadership of Rick Perry.

Under the influence

From Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Texas — A Texas state lawmaker who helped pave the way for major toll road projects is facing drunken driving charges.

Rep. Mike Krusee of Round Rock, the Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee, was charged with first offense driving while intoxicated late Wednesday. He is not running for re-election this year.

Krusee was arrested after a Department of Public Safety trooper noticed his car driving erratically in northwest Austin and that his vehicle registration was expired, DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

The trooper also reported a "strong smell of alcohol" when Krusee was pulled over and Krusee failed a field sobriety test, Mange said.

Krusee was arrested and taken to Williamson County Jail, where he refused a breath test. Under state law, Krusee's license is automatically suspended for 180 days for refusing the breath test. Bail was set at $1,000 and Krusee was released Thursday morning.

Krusee is charged with first offense DWI, a Class B misdemeanor with punishment ranging from probation to up to 180 days in jail and fines up to $2,000.

Krusee's office referred questions to his attorney, Jason Nassour, who did not immediately return a telephone message.

Krusee has served in the House since 1993. He was a close ally of Gov. Rick Perry on transportation issues and in 2003 sponsored the law that opened the door for major toll road expansion.

"The decision by George W. Bush to hold the SPP meeting in New Orleans had always been particularly insensitive and arrogant. Three years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains a devastated community with some 200,000 former residents still unable to return home."

--Blair Redlin, researcher with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, in SPP/NAFTA boosters on the defensive in New Orleans

The April 22 meeting of the Security and Prosperity Partnership was attended by President Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Read their joint statement about the meeting here.