US: House transportation panel chair says he will not seek re-election

Republican Representative Bill Shuster, the chairman of the Transportation Committee in the US House of Representatives, will not run for re-election in November, he said Tuesday. Shuster, 56, who has served in Congress since 2001, said that he will spend his last year in office “working with President Trump and my Republican and Democratic colleagues in both Chambers to pass a much needed infrastructure bill to rebuild America.” Trump, who met with Shuster in December to talk about rebuilding US roads and other projects, is expected to unveil an infrastructure proposal later this month. The administration previously proposed $200b in government funding over 10 years as part of a goal of getting $1t in public and private infrastructure spending, but that has been panned by Democrats who want significantly higher government spending fixing roads, bridges and other infrastructure items. Shuster has championed a plan backed by Trump to privatize the US air traffic control system, but it has faced opposition in Congress and was not approved last year. The Pennsylvania congressman proposed legislation that would make it illegal for an airline to bump an already boarded passenger from a flight.<br/>