[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 43 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1729-S1730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MOVING AHEAD FOR PROGRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY ACT

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I come to floor to express concerns 
about the transportation bill recently voted on by the Senate.
  My State of Texas is the fastest-growing State in America, and our 
economic success has made us a national model and a magnet for talent. 
But rapid population and economic growth means an ever-increasing 
strain on our infrastructure.
  This legislation takes several positive steps such as consolidating 
programs, improving project delivery, and expanding the Transportation 
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, also known as TIFIA, which 
has been successful in addressing various infrastructure needs in Texas 
and across our Nation.
  Unfortunately, the bill is also deeply flawed. First, it is a 2-year 
proposal. Changing policy for such a short period of time does not give 
States like Texas the certainty they need to undertake meaningful long-
term transportation projects.
  In addition, the Senate bill uses 10 years' worth of revenue to pay 
for 2 years of spending. This is the type of budget gimmickry that 
makes Americans suspicious of Washington.
  So we have legislation that is short-sighted and relies on accounting 
tricks. But the problems don't end there. The bill also moves us away 
from the user-pay principle. While this might work in the short term, 
closing a large funding gap with non-user tax revenues would ultimately 
destroy the Highway Trust Fund's protected budget status.
  The legislation also does not address the Trust Fund's long-term 
insolvency problem. Instead, it spends down the balance in the Trust 
Fund leaving a substantial deficit starting in fiscal year 2014.
  Finally, Texas receives significantly less from the Highway Trust 
Fund than it pays in. In 2009, Texas had the lowest Trust Fund return 
ratio in the country, according to a Heritage Foundation study. 
Congress simply must address the equity issue rather than rewarding a 
few States based on their previous share of highway funding.
  I know there are those in my State who favor this legislation, and I 
share their commitment to finding solutions to our transportation 
challenges. But I believe the people of Texas and the people of America 
deserve a better approach. I hope that we can improve the bill during 
the conference process. Our challenges are difficult, but they are not 
insurmountable, and there is no reason we can't make 21st-century 
American infrastructure the very best in the world.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I would like to commend my colleagues for 
passing the highway bill yesterday, which included language from 
Mariah's Act, a bill I introduced last year. This bill reauthorizes the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, and will improve 
safety programs on our roadways and safety standards in our vehicles.
  Mariah's Act was named after Mariah West, a teen from Rogers, AR. A 
day before her high school graduation in 2010, Mariah was killed as a 
result of texting while driving. Mariah's mother, Merry, has since 
become an advocate against texting and driving and continues to promote 
safe driving habits across the country.
  In part, Mariah's Act will prevent others from a similar tragedy by 
concentrating resources to prevent distracted driving. In 2010, more 
than 3,000

[[Page S1730]]

people died and thousands were hurt in crashes involving a distracted 
or inattentive driver.
  Along with distracted driving, Mariah's Act addresses NHTSA's two 
core missions: vehicle safety and highway safety. By improving these 
areas, we hope to continue to reduce traffic fatalities and reduce 
damage when accidents do occur.
  While I was pleased to hear that the number of traffic fatalities 
fell 3 percent between 2009 and 2010, there were still over 32,000 
traffic fatalities throughout our country in 2011. I believe we can do 
better to lower the number of deaths on our roadways by consistently 
improving safety.
  Lifesaving protections for children and young drivers are key 
components of this bill. This is important because motor vehicle 
crashes are the leading cause of death for all Americans ages 5 to 34. 
As a parent of two teenagers, I know the fears of first transporting 
your children, and then seeing them get behind the wheel. Because 
vehicular accidents are so deadly to our young people, I was pleased to 
introduce a bill with strong protections for our youth.
  Another specific issue that Mariah's Act addresses is a problem we 
have been facing for a long time, impaired driving. Impaired driving 
still remains a deadly problem across the country. In 2010, 31 percent 
of all fatal crashes were alcohol-related, and more than 10,000 people 
were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. We, as a country, 
should be taking a strong stance for ending this behavior and Mariah's 
Act helps develop the laws and technology to do it.
  Other provisions in this bill include updates and consolidation of 
highway safety programs; ensuring emerging electronics and technologies 
in vehicles are safe; and improved transparency and accountability in 
vehicle investigations.
  Along with NHTSA, the Commerce section of this Highway bill includes 
provisions of two bills I introduced last year, the Commercial Driver 
Compliance Improvement Act and the Safe Roads Act of 2011.
  The Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act will help 
authorities improve compliance with hours-of-service regulations that 
keep fatigued commercial truck and bus drivers off the road.
  The Safe Roads Act will establish a national clearinghouse for 
verified positive alcohol and drug test results of commercial motor 
vehicle operators. This will prevent a bad actor from failing a drug 
test in one State and simply going across a State line to try to beat 
the test.
  Our safety is compromised everyday by those bad acting truck and bus 
drivers that are fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 
We needed to strengthen our current regulations to ensure these drivers 
cannot bypass the law. These provisions are a practical way to ensure 
that the commercial driving industry is reducing the number of unsafe 
drivers on the road.
  Last year, there were over 5 million accidents on our roads resulting 
in over 32,000 lives lost. That is why we need to continue to fine tune 
highway safety programs to better target prevention, enforcement and 
oversight. I am pleased that all three of these provisions were 
included in this Highway bill and that they will help reduce the number 
of tragedies families face due to automobile related deaths and 
injuries.
  I would like to thank everyone for their input and believe that we 
have a bill that will complete the goal of increasing safety on our 
roadways.

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