[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7607-H7608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN ISSUES OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. Blumenauer] 
is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I recently returned from a weekend visit 
to the metropolitan areas of Seattle and Miami, where I had an 
opportunity to visit with a wide array of individual citizen activists, 
academics, journalists, government officials, health professionals, 
people who are struggling with a variety of issues to make their 
communities livable.
  I was struck, Mr. Speaker, by the fact that those conversations were 
identical in those two communities, separated by our continent, and in 
fact would be indistinguishable from conversations that I have in my 
own hometown of Portland, OR.
  They are wrestling with notions of public safety, affordable housing, 
water resources, open space, how to make the most out of scarce land 
use resources, and, most of all, the defining issue they felt was one 
of transportation.
  It was a timely series of conversations, Mr. Speaker, because we are 
now dealing with the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act. 
Six years ago the Federal Government entered into a new era of 
partnership with ISTEA, a new way of thinking about transportation, of 
providing flexibility and community involvement.
  Stories from all across America attest to the success of this 
visionary process. We are now about to begin the next stage with the 
reauthorization.
  Congress has the opportunity to build upon this solid foundation. I 
am concerned, Mr. Speaker, that we in Congress not be bogged down on 
some of the details that are not unimportant, that seem to be swirling 
about the issue. We need to be aware of the questions regarding donor 
and donee States, and continue to make progress toward more equitable 
and fair distribution.
  We need to be aware of the conflicts between individual motorists and 
the trucking industry, understanding their issues as well.
  But it is critical that we not be engaged in some sort of zero sum 
game,

[[Page H7608]]

where we look at roads, rail, air and water as being somehow set off 
against one another. That way of thinking should be a thing of the 
past.
  Our goal is how do we make the pieces fit together. If, for instance, 
a community has determined that a rail line might be far more cost 
effective to provide transportation capacity, the Federal Government 
ought not to stand in the way of their making that decision. If a 
community determines that sound land use planning and arranging the 
land uses in a thoughtful way is the most cost effective alternative to 
building another freeway, the Federal Government should not stand in 
their way.
  Tomorrow in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure we 
begin the markup of H.R. 2400, the so-called BESTEA. It is a good bill, 
and it is in fact getting better. It is critical that we keep our eye 
on five essential elements:
  No. 1, we deal with an adequate funding level. These resources are, 
after all, trust funds that the American people have paid through user 
fees. We have a responsibility to make sure they get the resources they 
need.
  No. 2, we need to make sure that the enhancements that have meant so 
much to communities across the country are protected and encouraged.
  No. 3, we need to expand the community input in the decisionmaking 
process, which has unlocked creativity across the country.
  No. 4, we must continue to encourage the careful planning. We can ill 
afford to misspend these resources, when in fact we find out that 
improperly spent they can actually make the problems worse.
  Most important, we must work to promote a balanced transportation 
system to get the most out of the money, the land, and our existing 
infrastructure.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pay careful attention to this 
next stage in the most important environmental and economic development 
legislation of this session.

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