[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 23737-23739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



CONGRATULATING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSIT ASSOCIATION FOR 25 YEARS OF 
       COMMENDABLE SERVICE TO THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY AND THE NATION

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 171) congratulating the American 
Public Transit Association for 25 years of commendable service to the 
transit industry and the Nation.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 171

       Whereas public transportation is a fundamental public 
     service and an integral component of the Nation's surface 
     transportation infrastructure;
       Whereas public transportation service results in productive 
     jobs for the Nation's workers and provides broad support for 
     business and economic growth;
       Whereas public transportation provides safe and efficient 
     mobility for millions of people in the United States each 
     day;
       Whereas the American Public Transit Association was 
     established in 1974 to promote and advance knowledge in all 
     matters relating to public transportation; and
       Whereas, during a period of remarkable resurgence in public 
     transportation, the American Public Transit Association has 
     provided a quarter of a century of service to the Nation as 
     the professional association representing the transit 
     industry: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress congratulates the American Public 
     Transit Association for 25 years of commendable service to 
     the transit industry and the Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri).
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity today to bring 
this concurrent resolution to the floor of our House. House Concurrent 
Resolution 171 congratulates the American Public Transit Association on 
its upcoming 25th anniversary.
  APTA was formed on October 17, 1974, when the American Transit 
Association and the Institute for Rapid Transit were merged. Today APTA 
has over

[[Page 23738]]

1,200 members, including bus, rapid transit, and commuter rail systems, 
as well as transit suppliers, government agencies, State Departments of 
Transportation, academic institutions, and trade publications.
  In 1997, there were 8.6 billion transit trips in the United States. 
Ninety percent of these trips occurred on transit systems that are APTA 
members. APTA has been a strong advocate for transit issues in our 
Nation's capital, as well as a resource for information and education 
for its member organizations.
  I am pleased to have this opportunity to recognize APTA's efforts 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent 
Resolution 171, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as we congratulate APTA on its 25 years of service, I 
would note that while the large transit systems such as Washington 
Metro and BART often attract the most attention, the backbone of public 
transportation in this country is still the providers in small 
communities and rural areas.
  On a daily basis in small communities across our country, many 
Americans rely on their local bus systems, such as what we have in 
Huntington, West Virginia, for their transportation needs. Indeed, the 
Tri-State Transit Authority is a shining example of what makes transit 
so important in this country, and is one of the reasons why we are 
commending APTA today.
  I would also be remiss if I did not note that another reason why we 
should be honoring public transportation today is the strong presence 
of the Amalgamated Transit Union. This organization represents the vast 
majority of transit workers who daily operate the trains and buses 
which get people to and from work in a safe manner and their leisure 
pursuits, as well, and their contribution to public transportation is 
also being commended today.
  I urge the adoption of the pending resolution, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the ranking member of the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  I want to congratulate the subcommittee on moving this legislation, 
and express my appreciation to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Shuster), for moving the bill, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman 
Petri), and the ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall), for their support in recognizing the American Public Transit 
Association on its silver anniversary year.
  Mr. Speaker, it may seem unusual to be recognizing an organization of 
this nature on the House floor. Yet, there is nothing more important 
for the growth, strength, and quality of life in urban America than 
public transit.
  I can remember very vividly as a junior staff member at the time in 
July, 1964, when President Johnson, on July 9, to be exact, signed into 
law the Urban Mass Transportation Act of that year. It was seen as an 
historic piece of legislation. It was the first time that the Federal 
Government had actually recognized the role of public transportation, 
transit, as it was called, or beginning to be called at that time, and 
this small step forward was seen as an important landmark for urban 
America.
  Not that transit had just been discovered by the Federal Government 
in 1964. In fact, the first transit system was actually a ferry, the 
Boston ferry, in the 1600s. I think the exact time was 1630 when it 
began its operations. The longest continually operating transit system 
in America is the St. Charles Line in New Orleans.
  In fact, the St. Charles Line began in 1835, and runs in front of my 
wife's family home in New Orleans, which is also the site of the annual 
Mardi Gras festival. The St. Charles Line continues to operate today 
with upgrades and with improvements and with each of the cars filled 
with travelers, without which people would not be able to get to work, 
people would not be able to hold jobs, people would not be able to have 
affordable transportation in this city that is so clogged with traffic 
because of the nature of the city streets and the nature of the layout 
of the community.
  Over the years our committee, then the Committee on Public Works and 
Transportation, now the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
has continued to support and widen the role and widen the public 
support for transit.
  Last year Americans made 8.7 billion trips on transit. About a fourth 
of those took place in New York City. The New York City transit system 
carries 2.2 billion passengers a year. Without transit in New York and 
Northern New Jersey, the area would need 10,400 miles of four-lane 
highway, which of course is impossible in New York City, it could not 
be done. And even then, if we could build all that highway, we would 
still be able to carry only one-third of the passengers that are 
carried by transit in New York City.
  So let us recognize here not just the 25th anniversary of APTA, 
formed 10 years after President Johnson signed UMTA, the Urban Mass 
Transportation Act, into law, but let us recognize in so doing the 
extraordinarily critical role that urban transit systems play in the 
lifeblood of America's great metropolitan areas: affordable, high-
quality alternative transportation choices for commuters, for people 
visiting cities, reducing congestion and improving travel time for 
motorists, reducing air pollution, enhancing the quality of life in 
neighborhoods.
  Here in our Nation's Capitol, the Metro system has meant vast 
improvement in air quality and in access for welfare-to-work, for 
people who live in poor neighborhoods to get to the jobs that are 
necessary for their livelihood.
  We could do better. We could do as the metro system does in Paris, 
which moves far greater numbers of people, and of course, that is a 9 
million population metropolitan area. But the Paris metro system, for 
less than half the cost of monthly transit in Washington, D.C., moves 
three or four times as many people on a daily basis.
  We can do better, and in TEA-21 our committee, with the support of 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), made the investments 
necessary to carry America into the 21st century, to balance 
transportation. There is an 80-20 split. Eighty percent of the bill 
goes to highways, 20 percent to transit, and we continue the growth of 
investment in transit systems as well as in commuter rail, in light 
rail systems.
  In celebrating the 25th anniversary of the American Public Transit 
Association, we are also celebrating the progress that we have made in 
improving transit systems, making them more affordable, making them 
higher quality, making them available to more people, and in the 
welfare-to-work provisions of TEA-21, we passed another historic 
milestone.
  It is not enough to say we have ended welfare. It is more important 
to say we have also provided access to jobs for people. My daughter, 
Annie, works at Jubilee Jobs in the Adams Morgan area of Washington, 
where she places people who have fallen through the welfare net, who 
are living in homeless shelters, who come into Jubilee Jobs in their 
location in Adams Morgan needing work. The biggest problem is not 
finding the job, but marrying the person and the job with a means to 
get to work. The job is meaningless if you do not have money in your 
pocket, if you do not have a way to get to work. We provided that 
linkage in the welfare-to-work provisions of TEA-21.
  We have made a great start on the 21st century. APTA has helped us 
get there. This legislation, TEA-21, has moved us forward, and with 
this resolution today we recognize not only the 25th anniversary of 
APTA, but we recognize the enormous contributions that public transit 
is making in the quality of life of all Americans, particularly those 
neediest among us who have to rely on public transportation systems to 
get to their work.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page 23739]]


  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 
171.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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