[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 160 (Thursday, November 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 GOODS MOVEMENT PROJECTS OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE (H.R. 3398)

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 6, 2003

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention 
of this Congress, legislation that I recently introduced. The Goods 
Movement Projects of National Economic Significance is legislation that 
addresses some of our Nation's most pressing transportation and 
economic needs.
  This is the problem:
  How freight moves through our communities is an important issue with 
far reaching implications. Goods movement is the driving force of our 
Nation's economy. This is a State issue, a Federal issue and it is an 
issue that directly affects the communities in which we live.
  According to the Federal Highway Administration, $7.4 trillion in 
goods were moved on the Nation's highway system in 1998, directly 
employing 10 million people. In 2000, $706 billion in international 
merchandise trade flowed through U.S. seaports and $646 billion was 
handled by our railroads.
  The volume of goods is projected to grow nationally by 67 percent 
over the next two decades. This tremendous growth in international 
trade will continue to place an increasingly heavy burden on our 
Nation's seaports, trade corridors, highways and rail lines. Traffic 
congestion, delays, accidents, and freight transportation costs have 
increased as a result. On a human level--our citizens are spending more 
and more time stuck in traffic instead of at home with their families.
  This is the history:
  Over the past 30 years our population has grown, our international 
trade has increased and our congestion has worsened. For example, in 
1970, trade was 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, 
it is over 25 percent. Since 1970 the population of the U.S. has grown 
by 40 percent. At the same time, the number of registered vehicles has 
increased by 100 percent while our road capacity has increased by only 
6 percent!
  By the year 2020, shipment of containerized cargo moving in and out 
of the U.S. will increase by more than 350 percent.
  By the year 2020, total domestic tonnage of freight carried by all 
U.S. freight systems will increase by at least 67 percent and 
international trade will increase by nearly 100 percent.
  The transportation reauthorization bill is the perfect opportunity 
for us to address these pressing transportation infrastructure needs. 
TEA-21 began to address Goods Movement issues with the creation of the 
Borders and Corridors Program. But we need to take this need further 
during this reauthorization bill.
  Funding for the Borders and Corridors program was far from adequate. 
This new legislation encourages communities and regions to develop 
comprehensive programs and plans that address the goods movement issues 
of our transportation infrastructure.
  This legislation recognizes that we must have a dedicated source of 
funding to ensure that goods movement and projects of economic 
significance can be built and that these projects contribute to the 
overall efficiency of the national transportation infrastructure. As we 
continue the dialog of reauthorizing the transportation bill, the Goods 
Movement Projects of National Economic Significance needs to be a part 
of that conversation.
  This is what we must do:
  Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance will do the 
following: It will provide $3 billion per year to a Goods Movement 
Program.
  This legislation separates the Borders and Corridors Program and 
creates one strong Corridor and Gateway Program. Corridor projects 
represented 95 percent of the project requests for the Borders and 
Corridors program.
  My legislation focuses our resources on projects and initiatives that 
promote the safe, secure and efficient mobility of goods and on the 
immediate and long-term needs of our transportation infrastructure.
  This legislation combines and enhances elements of two highly 
successful transportation programs. This program uses the criteria from 
the Corridors program and combines it with the fiscal responsibility of 
the full funding grant agreement of the transit New Starts Program.
  Specifically, this program provides $1.5 billion a year, $9 billion 
over the life of the reauthorization bill for local communities, States 
and the Federal Government to plan and build Goods Movement projects. 
These projects will ultimately enhance local, regional, and State 
economies, and of course, the national economy.
  Finally, $1.5 billion a year or $9 billion over the life of the 
reauthorization bill will be dedicated to funding projects of National 
Economic Significance.
  Throughout the country there are national bottlenecks that congest 
our communities and slow our national economy down. As we all know from 
experience, if there is a bottleneck on the highway, traffic several 
miles away can be affected.
  If the type of gridlock that I just described happens and goes 
unchecked, it will affect an entire region and the entire country and 
ultimately our economy and the livability of our communities.
  These are projects located throughout the country that are ``ready to 
go'' major investments in the national transportation infrastructure. 
By funding these projects we will be stimulating the national economy 
while investing in the long-term health of our national transportation 
infrastructure.
  This legislation, like the entire transportation reauthorization 
bill, is an economic stimulus package. For every billion dollars 
invested in public transportation infrastructure, 47,000 jobs are 
created.
  I ask my colleagues to strongly support this legislation as part of 
the transportation reauthorization bill. Join me and support The Goods 
Movement Projects of National Economic Significance.

                          ____________________