MORE ON THE TRANSIT PUSH: MT chatted Tuesday with Rep. Nan Hayworth, the author of a new bill (http://bit.ly/QZ2ycg ) that would bring transit pre-tax benefits up to the level of parking ($240 per month), which would save frequent riders hundreds of dollars a year. Though conferee Sen. Chuck Schumer and T&I member Rep. Randy Hultgren pushed hard to include the provision in the transportation bill, it was left off, though Hayworth said negotiators "were not unsympathetic" to transit's plight. Hayworth proposes taking funds from Sen. Tom Harkin's preventive health fund to pay for the benefit, a new take that Senate Democrats may be loath to accept. "We can better utilize these funds. Again, the president himself proposed redeploying these funds," she said, referring to the $5 billion used to extend the payroll tax cuts and Obama's budget proposal.

'Gives our commuters a break': "I think it's a win-win," Hayworth said. "I was myself a mass transit commuter when I was in the business world. It's a great thing for our environment; it's a great thing for our infrastructure." Hayworth said she has talked to powerful House GOP Chairmen Dave Camp and Fred Upton about the legislation. "They understand that we are trying to do all we can to help out," she said. "It honors simple conservative principles, which we need in this economy, and gives our commuters a break."

This issue of POLITICO Morning Transportation can be found here.