[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 24 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL FREIGHT NETWORK TRUST FUND ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 2015

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the National Freight 
Network Trust Fund Act of 2015 along with my Co-Chair of the bipartisan 
Congressional PORTS Caucus Ted Poe. This legislation will provide a 
guaranteed dedicated funding source, at no additional expense to 
taxpayers, to serve our nations freight movement.
  The Port of Los Angeles is in my backyard and when I came to 
Congress, I was surprised that there was a lack of focus on ports and 
freight transportation in general. One of the reasons I co-founded the 
PORTS Caucus is to educate Members about the importance of freight 
transportation to our nation's economy.
  We are a consumer economy. Whether it is a ``mom and pop'' store on 
the corner or a large retailer like Target, we don't think twice when 
we go to these stores to purchase groceries, toys, or clothing. When we 
go to the store, we expect that milk and the Barbie dolls are on the 
shelf.
  We also want to ensure that goods Made in America--including 
manufacturing and agriculture--are able to be shipped efficiently 
across our nation's highways and rail to our ports for export, which is 
crucial to our nation's continued economic success.
  Ultimately, in MAP-21--our last surface transportation bill--we were 
successful in including provisions to start the conversation about 
developing a national freight transportation network.
  The problem is that today there are not enough funds to keep the 
Highway Trust Fund solvent--let alone make the necessary investment to 
modernize and increase the efficiency of our freight network. That will 
not keep our economy global competitive as we continue progressing 
through the 21st Century.
  For example, goods that leave the Port of Los Angeles take 48 hours 
to arrive in Chicago and takes 30 hours to travel across the city. This 
bottleneck is unacceptable and means higher costs for consumers, more 
congestion, more pollution, and less jobs. The bottom line is that we 
need to fund our nation's freight network.
  If we fail to fund our ports, we will lose our competitive edge and 
add costs to our goods. A USDOT report, Freight Transportation: 
Improvements and the Economy, estimates the cost of carrying freight on 
the highway system at between $25 and $200 an hour. Unexpected delays 
can increase the cost of transporting goods by 50 to 250 percent.
  To keep our nation's freight network globally competitive, I am 
introducing the National Freight Network Trust Fund Act of 2015, which 
would create a dedicated source of funding for essential projects to 
improve and modernize our freight network at no new cost to the public.
  This legislation would create a National Freight Network Trust Fund 
and deposit 5% of all import duties collected by Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) at Ports of Entry into the Fund to be spent only on 
freight transportation. Neither businesses nor taxpayers would incur 
any new cost because it uses a small percentage of funds our CBP 
officials already are collecting at the border as freight enters our 
nation.
  Five percent of import duties amounts to roughly $2 billion in the 
Trust Fund every year at our current rate of imports, a level that 
would help address the nation's infrastructure funding deficit and 
allow us to make essential investments in the freight network.
  This legislation would create the National Freight Network Trust Fund 
as an off-budget trust fund to only serve the roads of the National 
Freight Network and those roads and rail that connect the Network to 
Ports of Entry.
  The legislation would also direct the Secretary of Transportation to 
work in accordance with the National Freight Strategic Plan to identify 
improvements to the National Freight Network, on-dock rail, and roads 
and rail that connect the Network to Ports of Entry, which show the 
greatest need in providing for the movement of freight and goods across 
the United States. It would also provide grants at the Secretary's 
discretion to State, regional and local transportation authorities to 
make freight network improvements.
  This bill will infuse billions back into the economy every year, help 
create good paying American jobs and keep our nation's ports strong and 
globally competitive.
  This is a win for our ports and for our nation's economy. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.

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