As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am currently working with Congressional leaders to provide authorization funding for highway and infrastructure projects of importance to the city of Memphis. Investment in public transit, highways, bridges, commuter and freight rail as well as various transit hubs, including Memphis International Airport, plays a vital role in furthering development in our community.

During the 110th Congress, I helped to secure well over 10 million in transportation and infrastructural investment appropriations for Fiscal Year 2008 including:

• $4,450,000 for Tennessee Department of Transportation Bus Replacement
• $500,000 for the Memphis Area Transit Authority
• $4,760,000 for Memphis Air Traffic Control Facilities
• $500,000 for North Second Street Corridor Upgrade
• $225,000 on behalf of City of Memphis for University Place Revitalization

From my position on the committee, I have fought hard to maintain the viability FedEx Express and will continue to do so as your representative. Federal Express is the world's largest express transportation company and has made Memphis International Airport the largest cargo operation of any airport in the nation, providing fast and reliable services for more than 2.8 million items to over 220 countries each working day.

I have been similarly supportive of Northwest Airlines, which operates its third largest hub in Memphis. Northwest's daily non-stop service between Memphis and Amsterdam is the area's only direct service to Europe. As the only carrier with a hub in Tennessee, the service provided by Northwest is important in linking our state with the global economy. As I have in the past, I will continue to use my position to relay the importance of these vital hubs and further advance transportation opportunities and infrastructural development in Memphis and the Mid-South region at large.

Over the course of the 110th Congress, the Transportation and Infrastructure committee has led the way in passing several important pieces of surface transportation and infrastructural development legislation to improve the safety and well-being of employers, commuters, passengers and various other stakeholders within our nation’s transportation systems:

H.R. 1195, a bill to make technical corrections to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)

First enacted into law August 10, 2005, the SAFETEA LU bill authorizes federal surface transportation programs and provides guaranteed funding of $244.1 billion to carry out these programs for fiscal years 2005-2009. The changes made in H.R. 1195 help to ensure that programs and projects contained in the authorization act are implemented as originally intended by Congress (signed into law June 6, 2008).

H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA)

Authorizes Army Corps of Engineers water resources development and conservation projects, including flood control, environmental restoration, shoreline protection, and inland navigation projects. The legislation also provides for construction of navigation improvements, ecosystem restoration projects, and ecosystem restoration preconstruction and design for projects along the Mississippi River (signed into law Nov. 9, 2007).

H.R. 2095, the Federal Railroad Safety Enhancement Act

Authorizes $1.6 billion over five years for the Federal Railroad Administration and other rail safety needs. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to Transportation Department, within four years of enactment, to require through regulation that railroads develop a railroad safety risk reduction program that systematically evaluates railroad safety risks on its system and manages those risks in order to reduce the numbers and rates of railroad accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities. The measure also reauthorizes assistance to Amtrak, authorizing $13 billion, plus another $1.5 billion to develop high-speed rail corridors (signed into law Oct. 16, 2008).

H.R. 2881, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act

Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal years 2008 through 2011, to improve aviation safety and capacity, provide stable funding for the national aviation system. The bill also includes provisions for consumer rights, noise abatement, safety issues, flight attendant, air traffic controller and pilot work conditions (passed the House Nov. 20, 2007).

H.R. 3246, the Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act

Authorizes $1.25 billion over the period of FY 2008 through FY 2012 for five regional commissions, which would be federal-state partnerships for providing assistance to economically distressed and underdeveloped areas that have experienced high levels of unemployment, poverty, or out-migration (signed into law June 18, 2008 under Public Law: 110-246).

H.R. 3999, National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act

Improves the safety of highway bridges, strengthens bridge inspection requirements and authorizes an additional $1 billion in FY 2009 for reconstruction of structurally deficient bridges. The bill also requires a risk-based prioritization of bridges that need to be reconstructed or rehabilitated, and requires an independent review of the risk-determination process developed by the Federal Highway Administration. (Passed the House July 24, 2008 by a bipartisan vote of 367-55).

H.R. 6532, Highway Trust Fund Restoration Act

This bill fills the projected shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund, by restoring $8 billion from the General Treasury that had been taken out of the Trust Fund in 1998, thereby preventing a potential $14 billion cut in federal highway investment in FY 2009 and a loss of 380,000 jobs (signed into law Sept. 15, 2008).

WATCH:

Congressman Cohen on FedEx and the FAA Reauthorization 06/28/07