[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11949-11950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL FREIGHT NETWORK TRUST FUND ACT OF 2014

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 14, 2014

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the National Freight 
Network Trust Fund Act of 2014 to provide a guaranteed, dedicated 
funding source, at no additional expense to taxpayers, to serve our 
nation's 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 cofounded 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 is not enough funds to keep the 
Highway Trust Fund solvent--let alone have 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.

[[Page 11950]]

  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.
  I believe that is crucial for our nation to have a dedicated source 
of funding to keep our nation's freight network globally competitive. 
Therefore, I am introducing the National Freight Network Trust Fund Act 
of 2014 that would direct 5 percent of all import duties collected by 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Ports of Entry to be spent on 
freight transportation. This is at no new cost to a business or 
taxpayer as it uses the funds our CBP officials are collecting at the 
border as freight enters our nation.
  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.
  It would also create a dedicated funding source at no new cost to the 
public by depositing 5 percent of all import duties collected by CBP 
and place these funds in the National Freight Network Trust Fund. Five 
percent of import duties would deposit roughly $1.9 billion in the 
Trust Fund every year at our current rate of imports.
  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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