WASHINGTON, DC— Testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on her colleagues to support legislation she has introduced to meet the nation’s growing demand for mass transit as high energy prices squeeze family budgets.  Senator Clinton’s bill, the Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act of 2008, would authorize $1.7 billion over two years to support mass transit systems across the country and keep fares affordable. 

 

“With fuel and transportation costs skyrocketing, more and more commuters are relying on public transit, putting added pressure on our transportation infrastructure.  We must take steps to ensure that our public transit systems keep pace with increased demand without sacrificing service or increasing fares.  My legislation will help to ease the burdens on both commuters and public transit systems in New York and across the country,” said Senator Clinton.

 

Senator Clinton emphasized that transit systems around the nation are now operating beyond their full capacity and are now faced with cutting service and raising passenger fares to cover the sharp increase in ridership.  Even regions with limited access to mass transit have seen a surge in public transportation use. 

 

During her testimony, Senator Clinton underscored the increased demands facing New York’s 130 public transit systems.  Senator Clinton’s bill would provide $237 million for New York City’s mass transit, which alone handles nearly one third of the nation’s transit passengers, providing 8.5 million rides each day and more than 2.6 billion rides per year.

 

Senator Clinton has long been an advocate for mass transit in New York and around the nation. She has been a steadfast supporter of the proposed Second Avenue subway line in Manhattan, which would ease the burden on the Lexington Avenue (4/5/6) subway line, the most overcrowded subway in the country. She has also worked on behalf of a Lower Manhattan Rail Link to JFK Airport and has advocated for rail projects and the expansion of bus service in Staten Island.

 

Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN) introduced The Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act of 2008 in the House of Representatives, which passed it on June 26.

 

A transcript of Senator Clinton’s testimony follows.

 

Senator Clinton: Thank you very much, Chairman Casey.  That was way too kind, but I appreciate the attention that you and Senator Shelby and the members of this committee are paying to this issue because I do think this a win-win-win for all of us.

 

This is an opportunity for the Congress to come together in the short term, the medium term, and the long term to address the multiple challenges that we’re confronting in a very productive and positive way. 

 

So I thank you for your commitment to this and you’ve already heard a lot of the reasons from the opening statements of the members of this committee as to why we’re here: the kind of challenges that we’re facing from our energy and security perspective, with respect to global warming and carbon emissions, to the congestion on the roads, to the difficulties that so many people are having today affording the transportation for the mobility that Senator Shelby referenced.

 

So what do we do about it?  And we need to start solving problems in America, and no matter who is elected President in January, we’re going to need a Congress that is committed to finding solutions.  And as I listen to Senator Dole talking about what she had done when she was in a previous administration, that’s the kind of tangible progress that Americans are looking for, where they actually can see and touch and feel and experience what Senator Menendez did on his side of the river.

 

So I hope that this committee will work with the rest of the Senate in moving us toward the long overdue recognition that mass transit, public transit, has really the answer to a lot of the problems that we face today.

 

In the first quarter of this year alone, riders took more than 2.6 billion trips on public transportation, nearly 85 million more than during the same time last year. And of course, as my colleague Senator Schumer pointed out, New York City is the epicenter of mass transit. 

 

But that’s no longer the case that’s it’s just a New York City issue or just a New York/New Jersey issue. Across the country in small towns and rural areas we’re seeing more and more public transportation being provided and the need and the desire for even more than that becoming a public concern. 

 

You know, more and more transit systems though are facing the squeeze.  These networks were already in need of investment just to keep running let alone to meet the skyrocketing demand.  They have to pay the high fuel costs as well. With these increased numbers the equipment and the mechanical problems also increase. The MTA in New York is thinking about putting on subway cars with no seats in order to jam more people in. 

 

So there is a recognition that we have preexisting problems that the good news of more people taking public transit has some consequences that are causing our transit systems to worry about whether they can continue to provide the services that are being demanded.

 

Now what we see is a sense that public transit has never fulfilled its promise. Again I think Senator Shelby sort of hit it on the head when he talked about what people expect from public transit.  If we’re going to get them in the doors, how do we keep them coming? How do they have a good experience? How they believe that this is a worthwhile commitment for them to make every day as they commute to work or go on about their daily business?

 

So it’s time to make public transportation a public priority.  It’s a public good.  It has the opportunity of solving all of these problems that we’ve been discussing. 

 

That’s why I’ve introduced the Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act of 2008.  This legislation authorizes $1.7 billion over two years to help mass transit systems across the country expand and prepare for the massive rise in consumers switching from the driver’s seat to seats on commuter rail lines and bus routes.

 

Now what happens in New York is that a number of people still have cars.  We’re not a carless society in New York. But they put those cars to one side for the daily activities. They use them for special occasions.  They use them to go visit relatives, to go, you know, to some occasion that really does require them getting in the car and getting on the highways.

 

But many people are now saving money. I think Senator Carper said $1800 a year, and as Senator Dole said, it’s $8000 if you forego the second car or if you leave it garaged and you’re not using it as much as you did before. 

 

So this proposal will meet the growing demand for affordable, convenient public transportation in cities, suburbs, and rural areas.

 

But I want to recognize that this is what I consider to be a medium-term solution. We have the short-term problem because of the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.  We know that it’s approaching bankruptcy. The Mass Transit Fund is facing a solvency crisis.

 

So before we leave we’ve got to fix that.  That’s a short-term necessity.  Now, the National Service Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission estimates $225 billion each year is required to meet the country’s transportation infrastructure needs.  That’s everything that we do. We’re currently spending at about 40 percent of that level; so we’re falling further and further behind. 

 

So that’s why when we consider a new surface transportation bill, we’ve got to cast aside business as usual.  We’ve got to think outside the proverbial box. We’ve got to bring every region of our country together looking for the long-term solutions and that will include a comprehensive infrastructure policy

 

So Mr. Chairman I’m excited that we’re looking at this in the perspective that I think it should be considered: as a great opportunity.  An opportunity to enhance our security, to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, to begin to meet our obligations with respect to global warming, to create jobs, millions of new, good jobs, which we desperately need—a source of new jobs rights now.  And to save money for folks and begin to chip away at that congestion which is becoming a bigger and bigger problem no matter where you live today in America.

 

So it’s exciting to be part of this, and I thank you and look forward to working with you as we meet this challenge.

###