[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 3, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H7394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRANSPORTATION BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I started last week in Dallas, Texas, 
working with people across the country, but especially from Texas, 
dealing with transportation needs and their requirements for balanced 
transportation by pedestrians, streetcar, and especially light rail. 
Dallas has the most extensive light-rail system in the country. I ended 
my week in New York City, in Brooklyn, where this vast sprawling 
economic engine, home to 20 million people in the metropolitan area, 
was dealing with their transportation needs.
  Virtually all of these people, whether from Brooklyn, Texas, or 
around the country, are in agreement with what they need going forward, 
an important part of which is a renewal and strengthening of the 
Federal transportation partnership.
  I was pleased to see that we are moving ahead with discussion of the 
basic framework produced by our friends on the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee. I commend Mr. Shuster and Mr. DeFazio for 
producing a bill that is quite strong under these difficult 
circumstances. It does preserve the basic framework and continue to 
make improvements not just around the edges. There are potential 
breakthrough provisions in technology in transportation that could 
truly be transformational.
  It is disappointing, however, that the bill flatlines important bike 
and pedestrian funding, something that is vitally needed in Houston, 
Indianapolis, Seattle, here in our Nation's Capital, in suburban 
Maryland, and communities all across the country.
  The lack of balance in this transportation funding is unfortunate. 
But I am hoping, through the amendment process and the work between the 
two Chambers, if it proceeds, that we will be able to correct it.
  The basic problem is, of course, we continue to tiptoe around the 
obvious solution to our transportation funding crisis. Our 
transportation partnership is compromised with our State, local, and 
private sector partners because we pretend that we can meet 2015 
transportation needs with 1993 dollars, the last time we raised the gas 
tax. The refusal to do what Ronald Reagan did in 1982 and the refusal 
to do what six red Republican States have already done this year--
Idaho, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Georgia--raising the gas 
tax, creates unnecessary difficulties.
  The majority of States have raised their revenues over the last 4 
years for transportation, and a review of the politicians involved with 
making these decisions found that those who voted for the revenue 
increases were actually reelected at a higher percentage than those who 
voted ``no.''
  This bill is a well-intended statement with good structure and 
innovation; but until we have meaningful, long-term, predictable 
funding, it is only a well-intended statement. We continue the 
uncertainty that bedevils people at the State and local levels; and the 
big projects--multistate, multimodal, multiyear projects--need 
certainty.
  The minor cost increase of a few cents per day for families would be 
offset by the dramatic plunge in gasoline prices and offset even more 
through the cost to families for damage to their vehicles of over $500 
a year now because of poor road conditions and almost $1,000 a year 
lost due to congestion. These are real costs that we are inflicting on 
American families every day unnecessarily.
  Raising the gas tax and providing stable, meaningful funding for 
transportation will create millions of family-wage jobs all across the 
country while we get America unstuck and strengthen communities large 
and small.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the positive elements in this bill that we are 
discussing is Vision Zero, which asks us to plan for a world where 
there are no traffic fatalities, a goal that is so important to strive 
for as we continue to kill 32,000 people a year on our highways and 
countless more who are injured.
  Setting our goal high with Vision Zero is the sort of bold step we 
need, but we should not have a Vision Zero for new revenue. That is not 
bold. That is not courageous. That doesn't get the job done.
  I look forward to this debate over the next couple of days. I look 
forward to having Members of Congress consider their alternatives. What 
are they going to do to make sure we can rebuild and renew this great 
country?
  This used to be an area of tremendous bipartisan cooperation, 
leadership, and accomplishment for Congress. I hope it can be so again 
as we turn to transportation this week. The American public would 
welcome such a development, and certainly they deserve it.

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