[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 64 (Friday, May 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E850-E851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2002

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, as you may be aware, this week May 12-18, 
we celebrate National Transportation Week. The 2002 theme is 
``Transportation . . . It Keeps America Moving.'' National 
Transportation Week is an opportunity to celebrate the successes of our 
transportation system and to promote transportation-related careers.
  As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and 
the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Transportation Braintrust, 
I would like to share with you the concerns I have about our dwindling 
transportation workforce. I would like to point out the opportunities 
we have to increase the transportation workforce through initiatives 
underway by local universities and the U.S. Department of 
Transportation.
  When we discuss transportation, we focus on the more tangible aspects 
of the system that we see everyday, like the physical road, railroad 
tracks, and transit systems. We often overlook the very people who make 
the system work--the professionals and laymen who have established the 
U.S. transportation system as one of the safest and most efficient in 
the world. Transportation and traffic engineers, transportation 
planners, construction and work zone crews, intelligent transportation 
systems specialists, and transit operators to name just a few of the 
positions in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. These jobs require 
personnel with the skills and talent to build, operate, and maintain a 
vast network of systems. Guaranteeing an efficient and smoothly 
operating transportation system requires the best and brightest in our 
workforce.
  Despite a recent US. News and World Report cover story that 
highlighted transportation engineering as one of the eight most secure 
jobs and the immersion of new technologies that are expanding career 
opportunities in the transportation industry, much of the seasoned 
transportation workforce is slowly disappearing. According to the 
Federal Highway Administration, 40 percent of the State and local 
transportation workforce is between the ages of 45-64. In the next 5 to 
15 years, 40 to 50 percent of all transportation workers will begin to 
retire. An article in the July/August 2001 issue of Public Roads, 
entitled, Help Wanted: Meeting the Need for Tomorrow's Transportation 
Workforce, by Clark Martin, amply illustrates these concerns. I would 
like to submit the article for the record.
  These statistics, compounded by an increased demand on our 
transportation system, amplify the need for the development of a 
skilled transportation workforce to manage and operate the system. We 
must look at increased funding for programs that ensure an expanded 
pool of transportation personnel as-well-as gender and ethnic diversity 
within the current and future transportation workforce.
  Some programs that promote transportation jobs include: Dwight David 
Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program; Technology Transfer 
Centers; National Summer Transportation Institute for Secondary School 
Students; Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures 
Program; Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups; 
and The University Transportation Centers Program.
  In my district of Baltimore, Maryland, the Morgan State University 
Transportation Center (UTC) is making strides to meet society's needs 
for transportation professionals. The theme of Morgan's UTC is 
``Transportation: A Key to Human and Economic Development.'' The Center 
promotes transportation-related careers, and provides training and 
research opportunities to equip future transportation professionals 
with the knowledge and skills required to plan, develop and manage 
transportation systems. These skills include, but are not limited to, 
designing and implementing intermodal transportation facilities, 
advanced highway construction, magnetic levitation technology and smart 
growth community planning.
  The Department of Transportation is taking a strong stand on this 
issue. Just this week, the DOT Modal Administrators and influential 
leaders in the transportation professional community attended the 
inaugural National Transportation Workforce Summit in Washington, D.C. 
The attendees participated in workshops focusing on the Workforce 
Pipeline, Training and Development, and Institutionalizing Workforce 
Development. The signing of ``A Partnership for Educating, Training and 
Developing the Nation's Transportation Workforce'' by Summit 
participants on May 13, 2002, was an important outcome of the meeting. 
The signers of the document agreed to work in partnership to:

[[Page E851]]

  1. Provide, within their own agencies and organizations, a focus on 
implementing programs and policies that will assure the development, 
support and management of an efficient and effective workforce;
  2. Support partnership efforts in the transportation and education 
communities that will help build young people's interest in 
transportation careers, and will support continuing education, training 
and professional development opportunities for today's and tomorrow's 
workers; and
  3. Promote a greater understanding that an efficient, well-trained 
workforce is critical to developing, operating, and managing the 
Nation's transportation system, and it is vital to National security, 
U.S. economic growth, and the quality of life for all Americans.
  As we continue to review issues related to TEA-21 and prepare for its 
reauthorization, I hope that we will begin to look at how we can assist 
the Department of Transportation and the transportation professional 
community in meeting these goals to address the transportation 
development needs of our nation.

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