[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 15, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H731-H732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IMPROVING THE TRANSPORTATION BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOLD. Madam Speaker, one of the core functions of the government 
is to invest in infrastructure and transportation. This is not a 
Republican idea or a Democrat idea. It's an American one. At a time 
when people are so desperately looking for Washington to come together, 
this is an issue that we should and can work together on.
  This week we're debating the transportation bill. While there are 
many great qualities about this bill, there is still a need--and I 
would argue a great need--to improve it. That's why I am pleased that 
there are literally hundreds of amendments to try to strengthen this 
bill.
  I hail from the State of Illinois. Illinois is a donor State, which 
means that we are putting in more transportation funds than we are 
receiving back from the Federal Government. That is why I am concerned 
by the cuts facing our State. We stand to lose almost $650 million. As 
one of the largest manufacturing hubs of the country, our region cannot 
afford to lose this critical funding. Our transportation funds help 
strengthen our local economy and keep jobs at home.
  Let me be clear. There are some very good steps in this bill that I 
believe we all should be able to embrace. The bill provides long-term 
certainty to States when they're planning their transportation 
projects. We haven't had a transportation bill in a number of years, 
since 2005; and this would provide 5 years of stability. It includes 
numerous reforms that enable States to cut through red tape and speed 
up the completion of projects, many taking about 15 years today, which 
would be going down to 7 or 8 years in the future.
  I'm pleased that the bill strengthens the Harbor Maintenance Trust 
Fund, which impacts places like Waukegan Harbor. Waukegan Harbor is a 
critical part of the Great Lakes harbor system

[[Page H732]]

and helps bring jobs home to the 10th District, which so desperately 
needs them.
  That being said, there are several aspects about this bill that need 
to be resolved. One of my major areas of concern is that of the 
environment. Madam Speaker, the bill would open a portion of the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge, also referred to as ANWR, to oil and gas 
drilling. For over 50 years, the development of ANWR has been debated 
greatly. We have an obligation to be good stewards of our national 
treasures and fiscally responsible in funding our Nation's 
infrastructure. However, including the Arctic refuge drilling provision 
will greatly complicate the transportation bill moving forward and make 
agreement with the Senate far more difficult. ANWR should be the last 
resort, not the first one.
  I'm also concerned with the future sustainability of transit funding. 
In the Chicagoland region, we depend on mass transit to lessen the 
congestion on our roads and to get people to and from work. We do this 
far more efficiently with mass transit. Fifty percent more people would 
be on area highways and interstates if it were not for mass transit.
  So think about that. For the people back there that have driven 
through Chicago, if we were to add an additional 50 percent on the 
already congested roads, it would make life far more difficult for 
moving goods and services around and for getting people to and from 
work. This is not what we need. Mass transit is a vital program and one 
that we need to preserve. We need to have the certainty out there for 
funding. In Illinois, our State will face a $137 million shortfall each 
and every year if this bill is enacted as it stands right now. This is 
unacceptable.
  With all this being said, I believe that we have much to do, and we 
can work together to build a transportation bill that gives States the 
ability to plan for the long term and complete projects faster. But we 
do not need to do so at the detriment of mass transit or the 
environment. So let's work together and make this a better bill that we 
can all be proud of and move our country forward.

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