[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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