[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27401]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRANSPORTATION WASTE WATCHER

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, this morning I wanted to stand and call for 
increased efficiency in our Federal Government. Our obligation here in 
the House is to protect precious dollars taken from the taxpayer by 
streamlining and improving our Federal Government. Specifically, I 
believe there is need for increased efficiency in the U.S. Department 
of Transportation.
  Savings in programs such as Federal Transit Administration programs 
will mean more money to invest for our country's transportation 
infrastructure.
  This past March, I met with Transportation Inspector General Kenneth 
Mead to discuss business practices of the agency and how Congress can 
better facilitate saving money in relation to transportation spending. 
In July, the committee held a hearing and identified several ways to 
enhance efficiency.
  One way to trim excess and expedite construction on transportation 
pro-
jects is by granting more authority to State Departments of 
Transportation to deliver transportation and deliver those corridors 
faster.
  On July 24, I introduced H.R. 2864, the Reforming, Accelerating and 
Protecting Interstate Design Act, otherwise known as the RAPID Act. 
This bill would allow large transportation systems to be built in less 
time and to save transportation funds by allowing roads to be built in 
commonsense increments as they are needed.

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