Committee on TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE U.S. House of Representatives	Democratic  News
Room 2163 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC  20515 Telephone 202-225-4472	Rep. James L. Oberstar, Ranking Democratic Member

 

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                 Contact:  Jim Berard

Thursday, May 15, 2003                                                                                                                                                          (202) 225-4472

 

 

Oberstar: Administration’s Highway and Transit Bill Less

Than Anticipated, Needed

 

============================== 

 

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta brought the Administration’s TEA 21 reauthorization proposal to Capitol Hill today and appeared at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines.

 

Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Ranking Democrat on the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, voiced serious concerns with the proposal, saying the package lacks substance.

 

The text of Oberstar’s prepared remarks follows:

 

 

Statement of

The Honorable James L. Oberstar

On the Administration Proposed Reauthorization Bill (SAFETEA)

Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and pipelines

May 15, 2003

 

 

            Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Lipinski, thank you for scheduling today’s hearing on the Administration’s proposed reauthorization bill.  I’d like to welcome Secretary Mineta, a former Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a friend of many years, and thank him for being here today.  

 

            As this Committee works on a bill to reauthorize the Nation’s surface transportation programs and make our highway and transit programs work more effectively and efficiently, it is important that we hear from the Department of Transportation (DOT).  DOT is, after all, the agency responsible for implementing these programs on a day-to-day basis and can speak to which aspects of the current law work well and which may need improvement.  For these reasons, and others, we appreciate Secretary Mineta joining us today to share the Administration’s legislative proposal. 

 

With that said, I’m sure the Secretary will not be surprised to hear that I believe that the Administration’s proposal does not even begin to provide the level of funding necessary to address our enormous highway, transit, and safety needs.  Our country’s economic strength, our ability to create jobs and improve business productivity, and our desire to create a safe, efficient transportation system are all dependent upon increasing investment in our Nation’s infrastructure.  As the Secretary knows well, DOT’s own studies show that every $1 billion of Federal funds invested in highway infrastructure creates 47,500 jobs and $6.2 billion in economic activity.  Now that is the way to get this economy growing again!

           

I appreciate that the Administration’s bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), focuses on safety.  I’m sure that everyone in this room would agree that safety on our Nation’s highways and transit systems must be a top priority for this Congress and this Administration.  More than 42,000 people are killed and three million are injured each year on U.S. highways.  Half of these fatalities are due to alcohol.  Last year, 42,850 people died on our highways, the highest number of highway deaths since 1990.  In addition to the enormous personal toll of these accidents, the economic cost is a staggering $230 billion per year. 

 

We should find a way to use Highway Trust Fund dollars to deal with alcohol and driving.  We should call upon the expertise of the Betty Ford Center and the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota to find ways to treat drunk drivers.  The .08 blood-alcohol limit is not enough.

 

Although I think the Administration has come up with a great title to the successor of TEA 21, to me, the message of this bill is:  buckle up and sit tight, you are going to be stuck in traffic for a long time.  We can do better, and this Committee, on a bipartisan basis intends to do so.  We can change these tragic safety statistics; we can make our roads safer.  We must provide the level of investment necessary to improve the safety of our roads, bike paths, and transit systems. 

 

Finally, we need a mega-project fund, with Highway Trust Fund and tax credit bonds to pay for up to 20 initiatives whose benefits extend beyond the local area—are national, or at least multi-state, in scope.

 

Just a few months ago, the Department of Transportation submitted its report on the conditions and performance of our Nation’s highways, bridges, and transit systems.  The Conditions and Performance Report estimates that all levels of government should be spending a combined average of  $127 billion per year to maintain and improve these systems.  Historically, the Federal government has contributed 40 to 60 percent of capital outlays for highways and transit, with the balance coming from state and local government.  Thus, the needs suggest a Federal highway and transit program of $51 to $76 billion per year.  This level of funding is in marked contrast to the Administration’s proposal to spend $37 billion on highways and transit in 2004 and only slightly higher levels in subsequent years. 

 

In contrast to the Administration’s stagnant funding for transportation, our Committee has proposed significant investment in our surface transportation programs so that we can make real improvements in safety and help ease congestion on our roadways.  These two goals are, of course, linked.  Improving the conditions of our highways and transit systems and addressing our very real problems of congestion will lead to fewer traffic accidents and fewer highway deaths and injuries. 

 

Further, increased investment will lead to across-the-board economic benefits.  A recent study by Global Insight found that the Committee’s proposal to invest $375 billion in surface transportation programs over the next six years would add $290 billion more to the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product than the Administration’s proposal.  The Committee’s proposal would lead to an additional $129 billion of household disposable income and $98 billion in consumer spending. 

 

The Administration’s proposal does not provide these incremental benefits.  Unfortunately, it looks like this proposal is much like many of the Administration’s other initiatives – it’s less than anticipated.  It has a catchy title and purports to improve safety on our roads, but when you look at the substance, it actually does little to provide the necessary resources to improve the safety, security, or efficiency of our highway, bridge, and transit systems.  I am confident that when this Committee reports a bipartisan bill to improve our Nation’s transportation infrastructure, no one will make such a claim.

 

As we proceed, I look forward to working with the Department and the Administration to craft the best possible highway and transit legislation to serve the Nation’s economy and provide mobility and transportation safety for our citizens during the coming years.  That process begins formally today with this hearing on the Administration’s SAFETEA proposal. 

 

 

###