[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1455-H1457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF GALLATIN REPORT ON ROADS AND CANALS, AND
RECOGNIZING THE VAST CONTRIBUTIONS NATIONAL PLANNING EFFORTS HAVE
PROVIDED
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 936) 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, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 936
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, 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon.
General Leave
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 936.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oregon?
There was no objection.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution reaffirming
our national commitment to our national transportation infrastructure.
Two hundred years ago, a farsighted President, Thomas Jefferson,
commissioned Secretary Gallatin to provide a report and a vision for
transportation in America, to knit together the then-young Nation and
to better facilitate the movement of its people, its goods, its
commerce and people, and to better compete in the international
economy.
For 200 years, or nearly 200 years, that vision has been maintained
and has been the prevailing view here in Washington, DC.
Unfortunately, we now have an occupant of the White House and a
Secretary of Transportation who do not share that vision. A recent
report detailing the extraordinary state of disrepair into which our
transportation infrastructure has fallen from a commission created by
this Congress in the SAFETEA-LU legislation pointed to the need for a
massive increase in investment at all levels, Federal, State and local,
because in order just to maintain the existing infrastructure, we would
have to spend more than we are spending today. We are not even treading
water. We are not even maintaining a deteriorating infrastructure; we
are deteriorating towards Third World status. While our competitors
around the world are leaping ahead with major investments in transit
and roads, bridges and highways, and with major investments in ports
and waterways, we are falling behind.
In response to that, unfortunately, the Secretary of Transportation
joined with a minority in dissenting from the report and essentially
proposed that we phase out any Federal role or investment in our
national transportation infrastructure.
I can think of nothing more wrong-headed, shortsighted, or more
destructive for the future of our country than to pull back from these
extraordinary needs. So that's why I think it is so important that we
look back, we look back over 200 years of history, we look back to the
Gallatin Report, we look back to the successes that have followed upon
that vision that we have been building upon for 200 years, and we set a
course for the next 200 years so that we can again boast of having the
state-of-the-art, most efficient, most energy-efficient transportation
network in the world, which is far from the condition in which we find
ourselves today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have agreed to reserve my time so the
Speaker may be yielded to.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I yield 1 minute
to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank both gentlemen for yielding and for
their support of this important resolution. I thank Mr. Duncan for his
leadership and for supporting this resolution. Mr. DeFazio, of course,
has been a champion on these issues for a long time. And in terms of
building the infrastructure of America, Mr. Blumenauer has, through his
relentless advocacy for building America's infrastructure in an
environmentally sound way, has added to the vision of how we want to do
this.
I learned about the Gallatin Report, which you talked about, Mr.
DeFazio, from Mr. Blumenauer. Imagine 200 years ago, around the time of
the Lewis and Clark expeditions and the Louisiana Purchase, a great
President
[[Page H1456]]
realized that for commerce to flow and for people to move and our
country to flourish, we needed to build the infrastructure of our
country; and Mr. DeFazio described the immensity of that project by
Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury.
Secretary Gallatin said at the time his vision of roads and canals to
unite our young Nation could not be left to individual exertion.
Contrary to popular thinking at the time, Gallatin had the great
foresight to see the long-term benefits of infrastructure investments
far outweighed the cost. And because of that, public capital, not just
private resources, were necessary.
From the beginning of our country, our Founders and the leaders of
our country were entrepreneurs. They were risk-takers. They believed in
public-private partnerships, and that is what this was.
At the beginning of the 19th century, it is important I think to
note, there were barely 1,000 miles of canals in America. Sixty years
later, in part because of the vision of Albert Gallatin, more than
4,200 miles of canals, ranging west to Illinois, north to Michigan, and
south to Texas, facilitated trade and mobility across our country.
The Erie Canal, the transcontinental railway, and America's model of
planning and investment stand today as legacies of Albert Gallatin's
vision. A statue of Albert Gallatin stands today at the entrance to the
Treasury Department building in recognition of his many
accomplishments.
It is in the tradition of Albert Gallatin that 100 years later, again
my teacher and mentor on the history of this vision for America, Mr.
Blumenauer, informs me that Theodore Roosevelt launched a similar
commitment by convening a White House conference on conservation to
preserve America's natural beauty. That led to the creation of the
National Park Service and helped a growing America remain a great
America and continue on to be an even greater America.
In 2008, 100 years later, 200 years after Thomas Jefferson and
Secretary Gallatin, 100 years after Theodore Roosevelt, in keeping with
the tradition of visionary leaders like them, we are prepared to invest
in America's strength. We again must invest in our infrastructure to do
so.
Today that means green solutions such as mass transit and modern
solutions such as expanding broadband across America.
{time} 1315
Whether we're talking about roads or bridges or mass transit, whether
we're talking about canals and waterways, sewage and water facilities,
whether we're talking about broadband or we're talking about the grid
to transmit electricity, whether it be talking about schools, an
investment in infrastructure that serves the needs of our children and
their education, all of this infrastructure needs a major, major
infusion of capital, and we want to do that in a fiscally sound way.
Just as they did 200 years ago, these infrastructure investments
offer our Nation job-creating opportunities to invigorate, reinvigorate
America's economies. Anything we're talking about in terms of
infrastructure means good-paying jobs right here at home in America.
It's not only about creating those jobs; it's about growing our
economy.
Today, because of the leadership of Mr. Oberstar, the distinguished
Chair of the committee, Mr. DeFazio, who opened the debate here, Mr.
Duncan, thank you as well, and the leadership of Congressman Earl
Blumenauer, Congress has the opportunity to honor the genius of the
Gallatin plan, as the resolution says, establishing a more perfect
Union.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Secretary Albert Gallatin who,
with his plan, encouraged the prosperity and the national unity of
America.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
And I appreciate the remarks of our distinguished Speaker, and also
Chairman DeFazio. And I would like to also add my voice to support for
this House Resolution 936. This resolution was introduced by
Representative Blumenauer and cosponsored by Chairman Oberstar,
Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman DeFazio, the subcommittee of
which I have the privilege of being the ranking member, and
Representative Petri, to honor the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin
report on roads and canals, a first-of-its-kind assessment for Federal
interests and investment in our Nation's transportation infrastructure.
In 1808, when he presented the report, Secretary of the Treasury
Albert Gallatin urged the Federal Government to focus on three basic
concepts.
The first concept was that it is appropriate for the Federal
Government to finance transportation projects that transcend local
needs. Second, only projects that yield a return on investment should
be constructed. Third, a nationwide system of transportation is
essential in the interest of national defense.
All of these concepts that Gallatin proposed 200 years ago are
relevant to the challenges that our Nation faces today and in the
future.
I also appreciate that the resolution has incorporated the need for a
new national transportation plan. Ranking Member Mica has, for some
time, advocated for a new national transportation plan that provides a
long-term strategic approach to funding our Nation's transportation
infrastructure system so that we can continue to be competitive in a
worldwide economy.
I believe that Secretary Gallatin would have supported this type of
vision for the future of our transportation system, and I certainly
hope that my colleagues will as well.
I have said many times, Mr. Speaker, that the people in Tennessee use
the roads in Ohio and California, and people in New York and Michigan
use the roads in Tennessee. There is very much a significant and
legitimate national interest in our transportation system in this
country.
Also, I appreciated the Speaker's remarks about the need to invest in
and improve our Nation's infrastructure. I heard someone say about the
last stimulus package that what we were really doing was borrowing
money from China so that the people could go out and buy Chinese
products. If we spend money on our infrastructure, we will be spending
that money here and the money will be going to American workers to do
these projects. And many of them are very, very necessary.
Mr. Speaker, I think this resolution is very appropriate, and I urge
my colleagues to support this.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy,
and I appreciate the leadership from my friend from Oregon on this
legislation; likewise, my friend and colleague from Tennessee, with
whom I'd served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee so
many years. They have adequately, I think, framed what we have here.
This is not merely the commemoration of some obscure historical event.
As was mentioned by the Speaker, this is the framework upon which
America was built for over 200 years; the vision of President Jefferson
and Albert Gallatin, the work of President Roosevelt, having a
framework for taking a ragtag group of 13 colonies and making it into a
transcontinental powerhouse. This farsighted leadership and Federal
action helped make America what it is today.
But right now, on Capitol Hill today, there are literally thousands
of people who are here urging that we deal with the infrastructure
crisis in this country, people dealing with mass transit, firefighters,
engineers. There are thousands of people who are concerned, right now,
that it is time for us to take this resolution as a clarion call for a
wake up.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has rated our infrastructure
at D minus. We are being outcompeted internationally by the European
Union and the Chinese.
This is history that is worth reviewing; how we built the
partnerships that created the infrastructure, how we were able to tie
communities together, to be able to enhance new technologies. When it
was time for the transcontinental railroad, the framework was in place.
It is time for us to have a clear-eyed assessment of what the
infrastructure needs are of today. My colleague, Mr. DeFazio, talked a
little bit about this in his statement because, frankly, we've got the
evidence at hand of what
[[Page H1457]]
the condition is. We know that there is time for us to move forward
with a new plan for this century. It is time to build the constituency
and the public awareness going from the Sierra Club to the Garden Club,
the AFL-CIO to the Chamber of Commerce, the bicyclists and the
truckers.
In 314 days, we start a new era here on Capitol Hill. There are
people out and about who are starting work on this, the America 2050
program, a nonpartisan assessment under the leadership of the RPA,
headquartered in New York, to other assemblage of professional and
academic and business.
I hope this resolution helps focus the attention of people on this
Chamber for what we all need to do to help our colleagues on the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to move forward with an
assessment of our needs now, a plan for this century, so that all of
our communities can be more livable and our families safer, healthier,
and more economically secure.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and once again I
urge support for this resolution.
I will say this: We have had many, many hearings in the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about the need to greatly
improve our infrastructure in this country. We attempted, in the last
highway bill, to put in some environmental streamlining. These projects
are taking about three times as long and costing about three times as
much because of environmental rules and regulations and red tape. We
have got to speed up these infrastructure projects. The other developed
nations are doing these projects in a third or half the time that we
are, and that's going to really harm this country in the future if we
don't speed these projects up.
Also, if we don't have more domestic energy production, we're going
to make ourselves much more vulnerable to foreign energy producers, but
we're not going to be able to afford the infrastructure projects that
we really need to do in this country. So those are two thoughts that we
need to take into consideration when we consider a resolution like
this.
But I commend my colleagues, Chairman DeFazio and Mr. Blumenauer and
Mr. Petri, for this resolution, and I urge its support.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.
It's already been referenced earlier by the Speaker, and by Mr.
Blumenauer, that one thing we could do for the ailing American economy
to put people back to work, quite quickly this year, this construction
year, would be investment in our infrastructure. These would be
American jobs with American products. They can't be exported. The
benefits are here at home. It will make our country more competitive in
the international marketplace. They help businesses with just-in-time
delivery. You're now seeing trucks detoured by 100, 200 miles because
of failing and weight-limited bridges. There's a tremendous amount of
work that needs to be done.
It would also make us more energy efficient by helping to obviate
some of the congestion that we're currently suffering from, the detours
that I already mentioned.
If we set a goal, for instance, of looking at our largest cities,
having 10 percent of people take transit to work, we could save 40
percent from the oil that we currently import from the Middle East.
That would be tremendous for national security, our balance of trade,
and great for the American people and good for the environment.
Now, some might say that's too ambitious. Well, I just came back, or
I took the committee on a trip to Europe. In London, more than 85
percent of the people ride transit to work. And in Barcelona, they're
investing more money in one addition to their subway system, which is
at capacity right now, than we're investing in all transit in the
entire continent of the United States of America.
We are not pushing the margins here in terms of our investment. We
can do better and we can learn from the past and, at the same time,
look to a more transportation efficient future by observing this
commemoration of Gallatin and beginning to construct our own version of
a Gallatin report as we move to the reauthorization of the surface
transportation and transit legislation in 2009.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 936,
which honors the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads and
Canals, celebrates the national unity the Gallatin Report engendered,
and recognizes the vast contributions that transportation improvements
have provided to the United States.
With the acquisition of vast land area under the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803, and with the persistent westward migration of early settlers,
the United States in the early 19th century was a young and rapidly
expanding Republic. To President Thomas Jefferson, the architect of the
Louisiana Purchase, uniting the United States and its people was of
paramount importance.
President Jefferson directed his Secretary of the Treasury, Albert
Gallatin, to develop a national plan for transportation improvements to
unite the country. Secretary Gallatin presented his report--the
Gallatin Report on Roads and Canals, Gallatin Report--in 1808.
Mr. Speaker, Gallatin's national plan matched the Nation's hopes with
the opportunities presented by a growing population, expanding
territories, and widening markets. It recommended, for example, an
inland waterway navigation canal from Massachusetts to North Carolina,
which was the precursor to our present Intracoastal Waterway system.
As a result of Gallatin's national plan, the United States has
achieved a number of important and significant transportation
infrastructure improvements, including:
The Erie Canal that connected the east coast with the Great Lakes to
reduce transportation costs to the interior of the country;
The transcontinental railway that linked the east and west coasts and
united the country at a time of national discord;
The Tennessee Valley Authority that brought electric power, economic
development, and employment opportunity to a region in need;
The National Highway System, including the Interstate System, that
fostered transportation connectivity, promoted interstate commerce, and
advanced national unity; and
Transit projects throughout the country that provided accessibility
and choice.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads
and Canals. H. Res. 936 honors the Gallatin Report and celebrates the
national unity the Gallatin Report has engendered.
This resolution reaffirms the goals and ideals that prompted the
development of the Gallatin Report 200 years ago. It commemorates the
legacy of Gallatin's national plan for transportation improvements and
the public investment in infrastructure the Gallatin Report helped
bring forth.
Our Nation's surface transportation system is at a crossroads. As we
continue the discussion of the future of the system, it is important to
recognize the bold vision provided by Secretary Gallatin in his report.
The Gallatin Report should serve as a lasting reminder to this and
future Congresses of the need for vision and leadership at the national
level.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 936 and urge my colleagues to
join me in agreeing to the resolution.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 936, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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