[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S594-S595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Surface Transportation Act
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I am pleased to present
the Banking Committee's public transportation bill to the Senate as an
amendment to the surface and transportation legislation now before us.
The transit bill was reported by our committee unanimously. Maintaining
investment in our Nation's transportation infrastructure is a priority
of mine and of our committee.
I wish to thank our committee's ranking member, Senator Shelby, who
has worked for a long time on this bill. Without his support, this
bipartisan legislation would not be possible. I also wish to thank our
committee chairman, Senator Menendez, and all the other members of the
committee who offered their contributions.
With this bill, we have the opportunity to preserve public
transportation funding for 2 years at current levels and deliver
critical investments in the Nation's aging transportation
infrastructure. In addition, the bill will institute much needed
reforms, such as eliminating earmarks and speeding the construction of
public transportation projects. The bill also includes transit safety
provisions that have been stalled for 2 years. These are important
reforms that many Senators have worked on. Now is the time to move them
forward.
Finally, our bill increases formula funding for all types of transit:
additional urban and rural funds, new money for every State to address
the state of good repair needs and more money for tribal transit. Our
Nation's transit systems need more than $77 billion to address
backlogged repairs. This bill cannot address all those needs, but it
can ensure that our transit systems don't fall further behind, and
transit funding will support more than 386,000 jobs.
Americans make 35 million trips on public transit every weekday. Many
of these trips are in our cities, but in places such as South Dakota
rural transit service connects seniors with their doctors and helps the
workers travel long distances to get to jobs. Everyone benefits from
public transportation, and I urge Senators to support this bipartisan
bill.
I yield the floor for the ranking member of the Banking Committee.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise in support of legislation to
reauthorize the surface transportation bill, and, in particular, the
Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012, which is the transit
amendment before us today.
While we are nearly 3 years beyond the September 2009 expiration date
of SAFETEA, I am pleased we are finally moving one step closer to
legislation that would allow infrastructure investments to move
forward.
Chairman Johnson and I worked together to produce bipartisan
legislation that eliminates outdated, inefficient programs and promotes
greater efficiency and effectiveness in public transportation systems
all across America. The Federal Public Transportation Act passed the
Banking Committee with unanimous support. This legislation before us
reflected in the amendment currently under consideration maintains
funding for public transportation programs at $10.5 billion a year.
Unlike previous reauthorization bills, the committee was unable to
provide an increase in the baseline funding amount for public
transportation. We were, however, able to provide a substantial
increase to existing programs by eliminating the bus discretionary
program which previously contained earmarks totaling $984 million.
In fact, we did not just eliminate one account that included
earmarks, we eliminated all earmarks that were previously included in
the reauthorization bill. These reforms have allowed us to provide
public transportation systems with an increase in their guaranteed
formula funding over the next 2 years. In addition to providing a
stable source of funding, I believe we must institute a system that
ensures greater accountability and encourages real investment in
maintaining our aging public transportation infrastructure all over
America.
This issue, also known as state of good repair, is extremely
important for public transportation, and our amendment makes it an
integral part of the transit programs. The new starts process has
undergone significant reforms in order to streamline and to improve
delivery of capital investment projects. It also includes a new pilot
project with the sole purpose of expediting project approval and
attracting private investment.
Setting aside, for a moment, the specific issues related to this
amendment, I wish to speak briefly to what I believe is the most
significant issue surrounding the reauthorization of SAFETEA--the
solvency of the highway trust fund. According to the Congressional
Budget Office, the mass transit account of the highway trust fund will
end in 2013 with $2.8 billion--$6 billion short of what it will need to
continue to meet its obligations resulting from this reauthorization
bill before us. While the Senate is considering a 2-year authorization
bill, others have advocated a longer term reauthorization. The length
of the reauthorization is not as important, however, as the need to pay
for all this spending before us.
I believe most Americans would agree that a reauthorization bill that
leaves the program insolvent or near insolvency upon its expiration
would be irresponsible. I hope this is not what we are doing with this
bill. Infrastructure spending is essential to our long-term economic
stability and growth in this country. Nevertheless, this country cannot
continue to deficit spend its way out of its problems for
infrastructure or anything else. Therefore, I think we must begin this
discussion with the realization that difficult decisions are going to
have to be made, and for our part I believe the Banking Committee has
begun to make some of these difficult decisions by providing level
funding and eliminating unnecessary earmarks from the program
structures.
I look forward to continuing this debate and moving one step closer
to completing a responsible and paid-for reauthorization bill.
I thank the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, let me begin by recognizing the hard
work and dedication of my friend from South Dakota, Chairman Johnson,
and for his tireless leadership on this legislation
[[Page S595]]
that made this possible. Let me also recognize the ranking member,
Senator Shelby, for his efforts to work in an incredibly positive,
cooperative, and bipartisan manner that, in fact, created the ultimate
result of a unanimous bipartisan vote, something we would love to see
more of these days. It was his work, along with the chairman's, that
got us to that point. I am glad to have been added to that as the
subcommittee chair as well.
Millions of Americans take over 10 billion transit trips a year. It
has taken over 2 years of hard work, and it is part of an overall bill
that creates or saves 2 million jobs, but those trips and the jobs that
get created by it and the opportunity of people to get to employment,
to get to a hospital, to go see family and friends are incredibly
important in the context of our national economy. At a time when job
creation is essential, it invests in every State to keep us competitive
as a nation in the global marketplace.
Under this legislation, for example, my home State of New Jersey
stands to receive about $519 million in Federal transit funding without
any increase in Federal spending. This bill cuts waste and eliminates
earmarks so New Jersey will see benefits from a $63 million increase in
transit funding, more transit funding than in any previous year. This
bill invests in our infrastructure and improves public transportation
without increasing the Federal budget, and it provides more funds to
make the improvements they need to ease congestion and mitigate
transportation delays. It is good for America because it will help
communities concentrate on smart growth around transit hubs that mirror
my Livable Communities Act and my State's Transit Village Program that
will help make New Jersey attractive to businesses and a model job
creation hub. It can do that for other communities throughout the
Nation.
It is good because it is energy smart and increases competitive
funding for clean fuel transit vehicles to help agencies to switch from
dirty, expensive fuels to cleaner, cheaper fuels. It not only
streamlines the process for Federal approval of new transit projects,
but it will help upgrade older systems by adding a new station or
another track or a bigger train car to increase capacity rather than
having to build new systems from scratch.
It also includes a provision establishing a program to allow public
transportation providers temporary flexibility during periods of high
unemployment to use a limited portion of their Federal funds for up to
2 years, provided they meet the established criteria for operating
expenses.
One last but perhaps most important thing the bill accomplishes is to
provide for a strong Federal role in transit safety oversight by
establishing a national public transportation safety plan to improve
the safety of all public transportation systems that receive Federal
funding.
Under this legislation, the Secretary will develop minimum
performance standards for vehicles used in public transportation and
establish a training program for Federal and State employees who
conduct safety audits of public transportation systems. Fundamentally,
this bill improves the effectiveness of State safety oversight
agencies, increases Federal funding for safety, and provides new
enforcement authority over public transportation safety to the
Secretary of Transportation.
At the end of the day, making our transit system as safe as humanly
possible in every State, from coast to coast, must be a national
priority.
So let me conclude by saying, once again, thanks to Senators Johnson
and Shelby for their leadership over the last 2 years. I think the bill
is a victory for every American community. It is a commonsense
investment that will create jobs, keep this Nation competitive, and
make our communities more productive, accessible, and livable. It is a
victory for those who believe we can create jobs, get people back to
work, and keep us on the cutting edge of the global economy.
So now we need to make sure we continue to reach across the aisle, as
the chairman and the ranking member and I have done during this
process, and get this investment in America's future to the President's
desk and signed into law as soon as possible.
With that, I yield the floor.
____________________