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Transportation
As a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I have had the opportunity to work on a number of pressing issues affecting our national transportation system. I have also done my best to ensure that Pennsylvania receives its fair share of Federal transportation funding for highways, transit systems, airports, and rail lines throughout the Commonwealth.
My vision for the 21st century includes high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) trains capable of traveling at speeds of more than 300 mph from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, with an estimated time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and stops in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Altoona, Johnstown, and Greensburg. Such a system will greatly improve travel within the Commonwealth and provide tremendous economic opportunities throughout Pennsylvania and the nation. Currently, a 54-mile demonstration project in the Pittsburgh region is one of two finalists competing for Federal funding to become the first maglev system constructed in the United States.
Amtrak already plays an integral role in the future of passenger transportation. To assist Amtrak with its capital and operating costs, I requested that Congress provide at a minimum $1.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2004. To ensure the stability and solvency of Amtrak, during the 107th Congress I also cosponsored S. 1991, the ''National Defense Rail Act,'' which would authorize $14.5 billion for Amtrak over the next five years. While Amtrak's fiscal needs are significant, I believe we would be severely disadvantaged without a national passenger rail system.
Pennsylvania's roads are in continual need of repair and upgrade, and I have consistently fought for increased Federal highway funding. During the 107th Congress I cosponsored S. 1917, the ''Highway Restoration Funding Act,'' which would ensure that the Federal government provide no less than $28.9 billion in highway funding for Fiscal Year 2003. I was pleased that Congress ultimately provided $31.8 billion for highway funding in Fiscal Year 2003. In the 108th Congress, during the consideration of the Fiscal Year 2004 budget resolution, I was the original cosponsor of a bipartisan amendment to provide for a highway program over six years of $255 billion, growing from $31.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2003 to $45.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2009.
To help ease the burden on our Nation's roads, as well as reduce congestion and pollution resulting from our ever increasing use of automobiles, we must continue to focus our energies on building and maintaining our Nation's mass transit system. One initiative which I helped author during consideration of the 1998 TEA-21 highway and mass transit authorization bill was the Job Access and Reverse Commute program, which provides funding to transit systems, enabling them to offer service to low income individuals in urban areas so they may access jobs in the suburbs. I am also continuing to work to secure funding for several Pennsylvania transit projects, including the Philadelphia-Reading Schuylkill Valley Metro, Pittsburgh North Shore Connector, and Scranton-New York City passenger rail line, and Harrisburg Corridor One Project.
Since the tragic events of September 11th, the pressing need for upgrading the safety and security of our Nation's transportation system has come into focus, particularly within the aviation system. On November 19, 2001, President Bush signed into law the ''Aviation and Transportation Security Act.'' The law requires that Federal employees be hired to take over airport security screening services, mandates that all checked baggage be screened for explosives, and provides for the hiring of additional Federal Air Marshals to guard domestic and international flights. I am confident that this is only the first step in ensuring safer skies.
I look forward to continuing my work to ensure that Congress addresses the many needs of our nation's transportation system.
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Washington, DC 20510
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