[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S11801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD:
  S. 3024. A bill to establish the National Center for Transportation 
Solutions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Center for 
Transportation Solutions Act of 2004.
  I am deeply troubled that the Federal Government is not doing enough 
to address important national and regional transportation issues from a 
systemic perspective. There is too little research being devoted to 
profound questions that have a long-term impact on the future viability 
of our nation's transportation network. Such questions may include: How 
well is our transportation system responding to the global economy? How 
can transportation meet the needs of greater environmental 
sustainability? How can people become more involved in transportation 
planning in their communities? What transportation technologies will be 
important in the future? Are there more effective ways to finance 
improvements to our transportation infrastructure? What will be the 
demand for various modes of transportation in the future? How well do 
the various modes of transportation interact? Is there a better way to 
reduce transportation accidents and enhance safety?
  In fact, the Federal Government does not adequately invest in finding 
answers to these and other important questions. The United States 
Department of Transportation spends approximately 1.5 percent of its 
budget on research. This amount is insufficient when compared to the 
2.8 percent spent by the Department of Agriculture, 4.8 percent by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, 8.1 percent by the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and 14.9 percent spent by the 
Department of Defense.
  Much of that 1.5 percent spent by the Department of Transportation is 
focused on short-term, highly applied research activities, such as the 
performance of varieties of asphalt in different climates. Too few 
resources, however, are devoted to research in finding solutions to our 
most intractable long-term transportation problems.
  The consequences of this lack of foresight are significant. As Dennis 
Christiansen, Deputy Director of the Texas Transportation Institute, 
testified before the House Subcommittee on Highway, Transit, and 
Pipelines last year: ``In the private sector, failure to innovate may 
mean one goes out of business. In the public sector, failure to 
innovate may simply mean that we do things less efficiently and at a 
higher cost.'' In addition, the American Public Transportation 
Association commented at the same hearing that ``without research and 
training, innovation withers and American jobs are lost offshore.''
  The lack of adequate investments in long-term transportation 
research, however, is not the only concern. The Nation's transportation 
research and technology programs are highly decentralized as well. 
There are state and federal transportation agencies, universities, 
contractors, and material suppliers all participating in transportation 
research activities. While this decentralization has its benefits in 
that the same broad array of institutions that are conducting the 
research are involved in its implementation, it also has its drawbacks. 
It poses challenges to effective priority-setting, and can lead to 
unnecessary duplication, results that are not transferable, and 
significant research gaps.
  The legislation that I am introducing will address these important 
issues by establishing a Center for Transportation Solutions as an 
independent agency in the executive branch of the government. Its 
purpose will be to develop and encourage the execution of a long-term 
national policy for the promotion of research and development related 
to multimodal transportation.
  The Center is modeled after the National Science Foundation. It will 
be under the leadership of a Director appointed by the President and a 
Board composed of sixteen individuals with expertise in transportation 
research and policy. Like the National Science Foundation, the Center 
will be organized into a series of research divisions on such issues as 
safety, the environment, infrastructure, intermodal connections, and 
transportation economics and financial policy. Regional Centers for 
Transportation Solutions will also be established to investigate these 
important issues from a regional perspective.
  The new Center will not supplant existing transportation research 
activities but supplement them. It will award competitive, merit-based 
grants to academic, public, and private research institutions to 
support long-term strategic transportation objectives. According to the 
Transportation Research Board, ``competition for funds and merit review 
of proposals are the best ways of ensuring the maximum return on 
investment of research funding and addressing strategic national 
transportation system goals.'' Sadly, much of the funding that is 
designated for transportation research today is earmarked for specific 
projects or research institutions without open competition.
  Finally, the Center will facilitate the interchange of transportation 
research data among interested parties, work closely with the United 
States Department of Transportation in setting research priorities, and 
coordinate its scientific research programs with public and private 
research groups.
  This legislation is a work in progress. In the coming months, I 
intend to further refine it for reintroduction in the 109th Congress. 
Nevertheless, the bill embodies an important goal namely, the need for 
increased resources and strategic planning devoted to tackling the 
nation's long-term transportation needs.
  I realize that the 108th Congress is nearing completion. I am also 
aware that the Senate and the House of Representatives will likely 
revisit the reauthorization of surface transportation programs soon 
after the 109th Congress convenes in 2005. That legislation would be 
the perfect opportunity for Congress to look farther into the future--
even beyond the traditional six-year scope of the surface 
transportation bill--and begin to make the investments necessary for 
solving our nation's most difficult transportation problems. After all, 
if we can devote resources to finding a cure for cancer and other life-
threatening illnesses, shouldn't we do the same and find a cure for 
traffic congestion?
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