[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 73 (Monday, May 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E594-E595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2018

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4) to 
     reauthorize programs of the Federal Aviation Administration, 
     and for other purposes:

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the FAA Reauthorization 
Act of 2018 (H.R. 4). Since 2012, Congress has been unable to pass a 
long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 
It is long overdue that we continue to ensure safe skies for the 
American people while also providing stability for our air traffic 
controllers. This legislation reauthorizes the FAA through 2023 and 
will offer the funding reliability needed to make improvements to our 
airports and air transportation infrastructure. I am also pleased that 
Republican Leadership abandoned their longstanding push to privatize 
America's air traffic control system which would have been downright 
fiscally irresponsible.
  H.R. 4 also includes a number of amendments unrelated to FAA 
reauthorization. One amendment that I support is the important disaster 
relief and recovery provisions that will directly help Americans in 
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and others around the country who 
remain vulnerable to natural disasters. These amendments to the 
Stafford Act will help communities rebuild from disasters such as 
Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and will allow Americans to better prepare 
for future storms. Not only will this legislation help Americans 
rebuild, it will save taxpayers down the road by reducing future 
recovery costs. While I agree with this amendment, it is disheartening 
that it took this long for Congress to act to give the people of 
disaster-struck areas the relief they need.
  I do remain deeply concerned with two partisan amendments that were 
added to the bill on the House floor. The first amendment would pre-
empt state and local laws that limit the hours a trucker can drive. 
This amendment is not only dangerous, but it has no business being in 
legislation that reauthorizes the FAA. Make no mistake, if this 
partisan provision is not stripped out by the Senate, truck drivers and 
all Americans who drive on our interstate system will be less safe.
  I am also troubled by an amendment that specifically targets the 
makeup of the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota. The Lewis Amendment 
represents an alarming infringement by the Federal Government on the 
local transit decision-making process in the Twin Cities metro area. By 
requiring the Metropolitan Council to shift from a citizens' board 
appointed by the Governor of Minnesota to a locally elected board in 
order to keep its status as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), 
this amendment would throw transit planning for the entire Twin Cities 
metro area into political infighting and chaos. This amendment would 
stall transit planning for the metro region, significantly threaten 
future federal funding for Minnesota and inhibit the continued growth 
of our culturally diverse and economically dynamic metro area. I plan 
on working with Ranking Member De Fazio and my Senate counterparts to 
ensure that this misguided and non-germane amendment is removed in 
conference. I would also like to include in the Record an Op-Ed from 
The Star Tribune as well as a letter from Minnesota Governor Mark 
Dayton, explaining why this amendment is harmful to Minnesota.
  Again, I am pleased that the House of Representatives is finally able 
to pass this long overdue but bipartisan reauthorization of the FAA. As 
the 115th Congress moves forward, I hope Congressional Republicans will 
continue to work with Democrats to invest in America's transportation 
system.

                                           State of Minnesota,

                                   Saint Paul, MN, April 30, 2018.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Senate Majority Leader,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Majority Leader McConnell: On April 27, 2018, the 
     United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, FAA 
     Reauthorization Act of 2018. As the Senate prepares to take 
     up FAA reauthorization legislation, I urge you not to include 
     language from the House bill that would effectively end the 
     Metropolitan Council's designation as the Metropolitan 
     Planning Organization (MPO) for the Twin Cities region of 
     Minnesota.
       H.R. 4 will modify a statute relating to MPOs established 
     prior to December 18, 1991, by now requiring local elected 
     officials to

[[Page E595]]

     serve on their governing boards. The Metropolitan Council has 
     consisted of governor-appointed members since 1967 and has 
     never had elected officials serve as members. In 1973, the 
     Metropolitan Council was designated the MPO by the governor 
     to meet the new federal requirement, because it was already 
     serving the purpose of an MPO before they were federally 
     required--to ensure the coordination of land use and 
     transportation planning. In 1974, the state legislature also 
     designated the Metropolitan Council as MPO in Minnesota state 
     statute. The Metropolitan Council has properly and 
     effectively served this function for 45 years, and amendment 
     H.R. 4 would rescind this MPO model.
       In 1974, the Minnesota State Legislature also created the 
     TAB to align more closely with federal MPO requirements and 
     guide the Metropolitan Council's transportation funding 
     decisions. Elected officials play a powerful role in spending 
     federal transportation money through the Transportation 
     Advisory Board (TAB). Today, the 34-member TAB consists of 
     citizens and representatives of municipalities and counties, 
     in fact, 18 of 34 members are elected officials. The TAB 
     allocates the MPO's federal funds, and the Metropolitan 
     Council's powers are limited to either concurrence or 
     returning the decisions to TAB for reconsideration.
       The U.S. Department of Transportation has grandfathered the 
     Metropolitan Council's unique governance structure, as 
     allowed under current law, for over 25 years. The Federal 
     Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration 
     have also recently reaffirmed the Metropolitan Council's 
     status.
       I reiterate my request that the Senate exclude this 
     damaging MPO provision from the Senate FAA reauthorization 
     bill. Eliminating the Metropolitan Council's MPO status would 
     trigger a lengthy redesignation process that would bring 
     uncertainty about federally funded transportation projects in 
     the Twin Cities, and circumvent a longstanding and productive 
     process at a time when transportation investment is critical 
     to our region.
       Thank you for your consideration.
                                                      Mark Dayton,
     Governor.
                                  ____


                   [From Star Tribune, Apr. 26, 2018]

         U.S. House Approves Measure Taking Aim at Met Council

                            (By Eric Roper)

       Rep. Jason Lewis objects to powerful regional board being 
     nonelected.
       The Metropolitan Council would be stripped of its authority 
     to distribute millions of federal transportation dollars if a 
     provision approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on 
     Thursday becomes law.
       The measure, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn., 
     tackles long-simmering complaints about gubernatorial 
     appointees, rather than elected officials, leading the 
     powerful regional government.
       The council's status as the Twin Cities' official 
     transportation planning organization is grandfathered into 
     federal law, which otherwise mandates that those boards must 
     have local elected officials.
       ``We now have in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region the only 
     board in the country that is entirely nonelected, the only 
     [transportation planning organization] that has the authority 
     to independently raise taxes and is nonelected,'' Lewis said 
     during debate on his amendment, tacked onto the Federal 
     Aviation Administration bill.
       The measure's future is uncertain in the Senate, which has 
     yet to vote on its own FAA reauthorization bill. In a letter 
     to the state's congressional delegation Wednesday, Gov. Mark 
     Dayton, a DFLer, warned that the change would ``circumvent a 
     long-standing and productive process at a time when 
     transportation investment is critical to our region.''
       Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff also criticized the 
     proposal.``We cannot predict whether the region, and its many 
     diverse interests, would be able to continue to find common 
     ground on building a new [planning organization],'' 
     Tchourumoff said in a statement. ``This uncertainty could 
     paralyze our regional transportation planning and funding 
     efforts, putting billions of dollars in federal funding at 
     risk.''
       Lewis said the existing structure already breeds 
     uncertainty.
       ``Uncertainty is a board that changes course every time 
     there's a new election in the governor's mansion,'' Lewis 
     said.
       U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said Lewis' amendment ``is 
     attempting to break apart the operating structure of a local 
     [planning organization] seemingly to punish it.''
       The Met Council's structure has been controversial since 
     its creation in the 1960s. Republican state legislators are 
     advancing bills to replace the board with elected officials. 
     Dayton vetoed a similar effort last year.
       The federal government requires metro areas to have a 
     planning organization to coordinate and plan for how the 
     region doles out federal transportation funds. The law says 
     they must include local elected officials, except for those 
     operating under a state law passed before 1991. A number of 
     suburban counties hired a lobbyist in 2015 to argue that the 
     Met Council was running afoul of those rules. They were 
     rebuffed by federal transportation officials. In its 
     decisions on which projects to fund, the council seeks 
     recommendations from a transportation advisory board made up 
     partly of local elected officials. But that board is not the 
     designated planning organization for the Twin Cities.

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