Reauthorization of Surface Transportation Act

REAUTHORIZATION OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - March 30, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, this week, the House will be considering the most important economic and environmental bill of this session. It is the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act.

It has been fascinating to watch the broadest coalition in memory be assembled in support of this important legislation to rightsize our investment in America's transportation system. This coalition ranges from the Sierra Club to the chamber of commerce, from the bicyclists to the truckers, people who lay down asphalt to those who care about historic preservation, all are on record as supporting an investment that is rightsized for America's future.

The number that has been identified by the administration from the Department of Transportation is on the order of magnitude of $375 billion over the next 6 years. It does not appear, sadly, as though this House is going to be able to consider an appropriately sized piece of legislation to meet those needs. The bill that is coming forward is at $275 billion. Our colleagues in the Senate passed overwhelmingly a proposal for $318 billion.

It is important not to fixate just on the amount of money, although that is not insignificant. What we want to do is make it so that it is appropriate for the needs that America has now.

These are jobs that are not going to be outsourced to India or China. There are between 20,000 and 50,000 jobs that are created for each billion dollars of investment. And this is an investment that has a huge return beyond simply family-wage jobs. Each dollar that is invested back in our communities under this legislation will be investing in rebuilding America's crumbling bridges. It will be revitalizing streets. It will be enhancing the environment.

The framework of these choices for American communities will inspire other private investment that will significantly enhance the Federal money.

This legislation has a number of innovations that give more choices to States and localities.

One is a "Small Starts" project for transit that can be commuter rail, streetcar, or bus rapid transit to be able to allow communities to have more cost-effective, simple, direct investments that can revitalize neighborhoods. After all, most American cities were built up around streetcar and urban electric systems in the past.

This will be the best bill in history for cycling, in no small measure due to the efforts of the ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar). There is a program for safe routes to schools so our children can bike and walk to school safely at a time when we are concerned about morbidly obese junior high students. The fact that most communities are finding fewer and fewer children can get to school safely on their own, these will be welcome additions indeed.

This is the time for the House of Representatives to do its job. We need to send a clear signal that we support investing in America's transportation future. We need to make sure that we protect the basic framework of the ISTEA legislation so that it enhances the choices that communities have and provides incentives to properly plan it.

It is important that we think of this as the beginning of the reauthorization for TEA-4 because this framework is going to provide a floor. It is going to provide direction not just for this next 6-year reauthorization but it will be the framework to launch what happens in the subsequent reauthorizations as well. We do not want to be 6 years from now in the place where we have an administration that is threatening to veto even a modestly sized piece of legislation for America's future.

I urge my colleagues to support a motion to recommit this bill to establish the $318 billion threshold the same as the Senate. I look forward to a debate this week that will help move America's economic and environmental program forward.

END