[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOOKER:
  S. 2380. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the 
national freight policy of the United States, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Freight 
Priorities Act, which takes an all-of-the-above approach to addressing 
our 
Nation's freight needs. We must improve the movement of freight and 
strengthen our economic competitiveness by examining a comprehensive, 
multimodal, national network that includes not just our major highways, 
but our rail, seaports, local roads and intermodal facilities. This 
bill would authorize the Department of Transportation to broaden our 
approach to freight policy, set goals for reducing air pollution, and 
creates a pilot program to study the disproportionate impacts on urban 
communities that can be caused by the movement of freight.
  In 2011, 17.6 billion tons of goods were transported throughout the 
United States, valued at more than $16.8 trillion. The Federal Highway 
Administration estimates there will be a 60 percent increase of freight 
being moved over the next 30 years.
  In New Jersey, hundreds of millions of tons of freight are annually 
shipped through our ports, by rail, and highways. The port of New York 
and New Jersey, as of 2012, supported over 296,000 jobs and 28.9 
billion in business income. This major economic engine drives New 
Jersey's economy and boosts U.S. economic competitiveness. 1However, 
too often, our lack of investment and our limited focus on the highway 
network causes our freight to get stuck in congested, heavily 
trafficked urban areas. Extended truck, rail and ship idling negatively 
impacts the health and air quality of local urban communities. With a 
slight adjustment of our priorities and a strong national commitment to 
investing in our infrastructure, we can dramatically reduce congestion, 
improve the health of American communities, make sure goods get where 
they need to go faster and cheaper, strengthen our economy and create 
jobs.
  The Freight Priorities Act sets goals for increasing efficiencies. It 
outlines goals to reduce air pollution and congestion, and requires the 
inclusion of port authorities in freight infrastructure investment 
decisions. The bill requires DOT to meet performance measures for all 
modes of freight movement, and establishes a pilot program that will 
help find ways to reduce the impact on local communities and help 
create access to jobs at ports and other multimodal facilities.
  By refocusing our priorities, we will ensure that the smartest, most-
cost effective projects secure funding. In New Jersey this could mean 
investing in the Raritan intermodal hub project in Essex, Union and 
Middlesex counties, which would create a direct connection for freight 
cars to access the port of New York and New Jersey. The project would 
relieve congestion on the roads and shift freight off of Amtrak's 
passenger lines. This bill would also prioritize investments that 
reduce air pollution, such as shore power technology at the port of 
Newark, which would help reduce emissions by allowing major cargo 
vessels to plug into the electric grid while at port.
  Rather than finding ways to merely skate by on the limited 
infrastructure funds we have each year, the conversation we should be 
having in Congress is how we can dramatically increase investments in 
our infrastructure and improve the safety and functionality of our 
entire network that transports both people and goods. This bill is a 
strong step in that direction. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this important piece of legislation, and look forward to 
working with my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee to carry 
these priorities as we draft our portion of the Surface Transportation 
Reauthorization bill.

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