Ben Goldman

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member John Mica knew the value of good transit.

In June 2009, a fatal crash on the D.C. Metro prompted federal lawmakers to consider adding a new layer of transit safety oversight. Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, introduced the National Metro Safety Act of 2009 to establish national safety standards for transit systems. It was never enacted, but it certainly raised the issue's profile, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has not let it fall by the wayside.

Yesterday, before taking off for a two-week recess, Congress passed a three-month extension of SAFETEA-LU, the ninth since it first expired on September 30, 2009. It now only needs the president's signature sometime before midnight on Saturday to become law.

Disclaimer: The House and Senate, in the grand scheme of things, have plenty of time to hack together a short-term extension of transportation funding, or even to pass the Senate bill outright if they felt like it.

Congress has five days in which to pass an extension of transportation funding. That means there will be a flurry of activity on the Hill this week to avoid a shutdown of federal transportation programs on April 1. (It also means there will also be a flurry of "April Fools" references directed by and at opposing political parties on the House and Senate floors.)

Reps. John Mica, Dave Camp, and John Duncan have formally introduced a bill that would extend federal transportation programs until June 30, without any changes to funding, policy, or gas taxes. It is officially known as H.R. 4239.

The League of American Bicyclists welcomed a record crowd to the 2012 National Bike Summit this morning. Over 800 attendees filled the basement of the Grand Hyatt Metro Center in Washington to hear remarks from federal lawmakers and officials about the state of bike advocacy in America -- so large a crowd that president Andy Clarke said that next year the LAB's sights are set on the much larger Walter E. Washington Convention Center, just two blocks away.

Something to keep in mind while the House GOP leadership toys with the idea of sending national transportation policy back to the 1950s…

The House of Representatives is back in town, and its members still don't have a transportation bill. In fact, they probably won't have one for weeks. But two groups holding conferences in Washington this week would be more than happy to help them out in the meantime.

The Senate transportation bill has finally passed by a vote of 74 to 22. In a show of bipartisan support, which this bill has largely enjoyed from start to finish, 22 Republicans voted for its passage.