[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 936 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                 House Calendar No. 194
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 936

                          [Report No. 110-544]

  Honoring the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads and 
Canals, celebrating the national unity the Gallatin Report engendered, 
 and recognizing the vast contributions that national planning efforts 
                  have provided to the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 23, 2008

 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Walsh of 
New York, Mr. Petri, and Mr. Farr) submitted the following resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

                             March 10, 2008

 Additional sponsors: Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Ms. Matsui, 
                            and Mr. Hinchey

                             March 10, 2008

 Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered 
                             to be printed
    [Strike out the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Honoring the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads and 
Canals, celebrating the national unity the Gallatin Report engendered, 
 and recognizing the vast contributions that national planning efforts 
                  have provided to the United States.

<DELETED>Whereas President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his Secretary of the 
        Treasury Albert Gallatin to provide a new vision for transportation that 
        would unite the young Republic;
Whereas 2008 marks the bicentennial of the report that Secretary Gallatin 
        presented to President Jefferson, which proposed transportation 
        improvements not as ends in themselves but as means to further national 
        unity, which was part of the promise of the American Revolution, as 
        James Madison, writing in The Federalist No. 14, emphasized, ``Let it be 
        remarked . . . that the intercourse throughout the Union will be 
        facilitated by new improvements. Roads will everywhere be shortened, and 
        kept in better order; accommodations for travelers will be multiplied 
        and meliorated; an interior navigation on our eastern side will be 
        opened throughout, or nearly throughout, the whole extent of the 13 
        States'', and whose words have served as a worthy reminder of the needs 
        for transportation infrastructure since that time;
Whereas Gallatin incorporated the legacy Benjamin Franklin bequeathed to the 
        country through his improvements to the Postal Service, including 
        Franklin's route surveys, his placement of milestones on principle 
        roads, and his development of shorter transportation routes;
Whereas the United States, as a result of Gallatin's legacy, has a record of 
        successful infrastructure partnerships, including--

</DELETED>    (1) the partnerships that built the Erie Canal, which vastly 
reduced transportation costs to the interior;

</DELETED>    (2) the partnerships that built the transcontinental railway, 
which united the country;

</DELETED>    (3) the partnerships that built transit projects across the 
country that promote freedom and opportunity;

</DELETED>    (4) the partnerships that built the National Highway System, 
which fostered interstate commerce, national unity, and broke down barriers 
between the States; and

</DELETED>    (5) the partnerships that formed the Tennessee Valley 
Authority, devised by President Theodore Roosevelt as a ``corporation 
clothed with the power of government but possessed of the flexibility and 
initiative of a private enterprise'', which brought electricity, 
conservation planning, and opportunity for thousands in the Tennessee 
Valley and across the country;

Whereas any national planning endeavor, to be regarded as a success, must 
        address and reconcile the needs of different regions of the country;
Whereas the genius of the Gallatin plan was its alignment of the hopes of the 
        Nation with the opportunities presented by access to new markets, 
        populations, and territories;
Whereas the United States currently faces new challenges financing the 
        infrastructure necessary for the future economic needs of the country; 
        and
Whereas America must have a plan for its future if it is to succeed in a world 
        of increasing international competition: Now, therefore, be it
</DELETED>Whereas President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his Secretary of the 
        Treasury, Albert Gallatin, to provide a new vision for transportation 
        that would unite the young Republic;
Whereas 2008 marks the bicentennial of the national plan, known as the Gallatin 
        Report on Roads and Canals (Gallatin Report), presented by Secretary 
        Gallatin to President Jefferson;
Whereas the Gallatin Report proposed transportation improvements not as ends in 
        themselves but as means to further national unity;
Whereas transportation improvements were part of the promise of the American 
        Revolution, as James Madison, writing in The Federalist No. 14, 
        emphasized, ``Let it be remarked ... that the intercourse throughout the 
        Union will be facilitated by new improvements. Roads will everywhere be 
        shortened, and kept in better order; accommodations for travelers will 
        be multiplied and meliorated; an interior navigation on our eastern side 
        will be opened throughout, or nearly throughout, the whole extent of the 
        thirteen States'';
Whereas Madison's words have served as a worthy reminder of the needs for 
        transportation infrastructure since that time;
Whereas the Gallatin Report incorporated the improvements to the Postal Service 
        that Benjamin Franklin bequeathed to the Nation, including Franklin's 
        route surveys, his placement of milestones on principal roads, and his 
        development of shorter transportation routes;
Whereas the Gallatin Report called for an inland waterway navigation canal from 
        Massachusetts to North Carolina, which was the precursor to the modern 
        day Intercostal Waterway system;
Whereas the United States, as a result of Gallatin's legacy, has a record of 
        successful infrastructure developments, including--

    (1) the Erie Canal, which vastly reduced transportation costs to the 
interior;

    (2) the transcontinental railway, which united the Nation;

    (3) transit projects across the Nation, which promote freedom and 
opportunity;

    (4) the National Highway System, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower 
System of Interstate and Defense Highways, which fostered interstate 
commerce, national unity, and broke down barriers between the States; and

    (5) the Tennessee Valley Authority, devised by President Franklin 
Delano Roosevelt as a ``corporation clothed with the power of government 
but possessed of the flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise'', 
which brought electricity, conservation planning, and opportunity for 
thousands in the Tennessee Valley and across the Nation;

Whereas to be regarded as a success, any national planning endeavor must address 
        and reconcile the needs of different regions of the Nation;
Whereas the genius of the Gallatin Report was its alignment of the hopes of the 
        Nation with the opportunities presented by access to new markets, 
        populations, and territories;
Whereas the United States currently faces new challenges in financing the 
        transportation infrastructure that is necessary for the future economic 
        needs of the Nation; and
Whereas if the United States is to succeed in a world of increasing 
        international competition, the United States must have a new national 
        plan for transportation improvements to provide for the Nation's future: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  <DELETED>That the United States House of 
Representatives--
        <DELETED>    (1) reaffirms the goals and ideals that formed the 
        impetus for Gallatin's national plan two hundred years 
        ago;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) calls on the Federal Government, States, 
        localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and 
        the citizens of the United States to mark this important 
        anniversary by recalling the important legacy of public 
        investment in infrastructure that connects and enhances the 
        economies, communications, and communities of our several 
        States; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) supports the creation of a new national plan 
        to align the demands for economic development with the 
        resources of the Nation.</DELETED>
    That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the goals and ideals that formed the impetus 
        for Albert Gallatin's national plan for transportation 
        improvements 200 years ago;
            (2) calls on the Federal Government, States, localities, 
        schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and the citizens 
        of the United States to mark this important anniversary by 
        recalling the important legacy of public investment in 
        infrastructure, which connects and enhances the economies, 
        communications, and communities of the several States; and
            (3) supports the creation of a new national plan for 
        transportation improvements to align the demands for economic 
        development with the resources of the Nation.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``Resolution reaffirming the 
        goals and ideals that formed the impetus for Albert Gallatin's 
        national plan for transportation improvements 200 years ago, 
        and for other purposes.''.
                                                 House Calendar No. 194

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                              H. RES. 936

                          [Report No. 110-544]

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

  Honoring the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads and 
Canals, celebrating the national unity the Gallatin Report engendered, 
 and recognizing the vast contributions that national planning efforts 
                  have provided to the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 10, 2008

 Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered 
                             to be printed