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The economy in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than previously reported, restrained by a smaller gain in stockpiles and widening trade gap.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx’s fiscal 2016 budget pitch to House Republican funding leaders fell flat after several key lawmakers said they would not support the proposal.

WASHINGTON — A Senate transportation panel will unveil a multiyear highway bill before there is a need to approve a short-term extension of funding authority for highway programs, which expires in late spring, the panel’s chairman told Transport Topics on Feb. 25.

The recent slump in fuel prices is so far failing to ripple through the U.S. economy as the cost of services such as rents climbs, bolstering the Federal Reserve’s view that inflation will eventually reach their goal.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he believes Congress cannot deliver a new transportation funding bill by the end of May and should pass a temporary funding extension as soon as possible.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is trying again to produce a rule on minimum training standards for entry-level commercial vehicle drivers — a goal of the U.S. government since 1985.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the chamber’s third-ranking Republican, said a tax overhaul could solve the short- and long-term funding woes facing the federal transportation system.

U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico in December increased to $95.8 billion, up 5.4% from 2013, and trucks carried about three-fifths of the freight, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Feb. 26.