[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19484-19486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TRANSPORTATION BILL

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise tonight to thank my colleagues 
who worked so hard on this transportation package that we have just 
voted on. I thank Chairman Inhofe and Senator Boxer for their hard 
work, as well as Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson from the commerce 
committee for their hard work.
  The last thing I would have predicted at the beginning of this year 
is that Senator Boxer would have joined forces with Senator McConnell 
to force through a transportation package that many of us probably 
thought wasn't even a reality. I would like to thank the Senator from 
California because I think there are times in everybody's career where 
you have to decide that you are going to stand up and push forward no 
matter how many arrows are shot in your back or no matter how many 
questions people ask. You have a vision of a path that you see and you 
realize that at the end, you think you can produce a package that will 
really be good for America.
  That is what Senator Boxer has done. She has produced a package that 
will not only be a great legacy for an already great career but will be 
the very anecdote we need right now to an economy that is greatly 
challenged by a lack of infrastructure investment.
  I say that because the Senator from California and I both represent 
West Coast States that see Asia as a great economic opportunity and 
that represent ports up and down the West Coast. We probably have the 
top one and two and three and four ports on the west coast as far as 
volume. The key thing that we know is that our own quadrennial review 
of energy products told us that we can't even move product because we 
compete so much for room on our rails, and battle congestion on our 
highways. So for the first time, because of this legislation, the 
United States of America will have a national multimodal freight 
policy, along with a national freight strategic plan to say that we 
have to identify the freight network that is most critical to moving 
product to the United States of America and through our ports, and that 
we should have a program to direct funding to those multimodal projects 
that are going to help get U.S.-made products outside of the United 
States and to the markets where they need to be delivered.
  So again, I thank Senator Thune and Senator Nelson for fighting for 
these provisions in the commerce committee bill that got merged into 
this package and all of the staff on both sides of the aisle in the 
commerce committee who helped on this and Senator Boxer and Senator 
Inhofe for including this.
  I know that many times I ran into staff in the hall and they said: 
Yes, we know, freight can't wait. Which is kind of a moniker that we 
had come to talk about because freight really can't wait. If we are not 
shipping it in a timely fashion from North America, from the United 
States, I guarantee to my colleagues that products will be delivered to 
Asia or to Europe from someplace else and we will lose business.
  So I think the U.S. Congress and the Senate tonight has understood 
that our infrastructure needs a shot in the arm to move freight and to 
establish this policy I know is going to pay dividends for us. So thank 
you very much for making sure that provision was in this legislation. 
It is a very key moment for us looking at the fact that we are an 
exporter and that we want our products to reach markets in a timely 
fashion.
  I also want to thank the Secretary of Transportation because he gets 
this policy, and the national advisory committee that his predecessor 
established on freight will be very helpful for us in identifying the 
projects and using the resources that are in this legislation to move 
forward.
  I also want to say how happy and grateful I am that the resolution of 
the Export-Import Bank debate is finally over tonight, and finally we 
have resolved the fact that the Bank will be reauthorized for 4 years. 
There are hundreds of millions of dollars of projects that need to be 
approved and they can hopefully start moving through the process.
  I will point out that the Board needs nominees to fill the vacancies, 
and we should get that done so we can finish this process. But the fact 
that we are making a commitment for 4 years to the strategy that, yes, 
we want to manufacture products and, yes, we want to build things and 
ship them to overseas markets--whether they are grain silos, whether 
they are airplanes, whether they are music stands, whether they are 
tractors--whatever they are, we want to build them and we want to reach 
developing countries and international markets, and we are going to 
make sure the credit agencies that assist bankers in finalizing those 
deals exist, and we are making that commitment for 4 years.
  So if there is anybody who has arrows in their back over that, I also 
thank them for continuing to fight to make sure we got through this 
process. My colleagues know that both a majority of people in the 
House--a majority

[[Page 19485]]

of Republicans--supported this idea and finally got their voices heard 
through a discharge petition, and the majority of the U.S. Senate 
supported this position.
  So I hope people who have allowed this process to finally take place 
will understand how valuable the freight provision and the export bank 
provision is for us as a country to continue our export strategy.
  Our strategy is to build great products and to sell them to a 
developing world. Ninety-five percent of consumers are outside of the 
United States, so let's sell products, but we have to fix our 
infrastructure to do it. We have to make sure that credit is available 
to do it, and we have to make sure we continue to move forward with the 
other policies that are going to help us with this strategy.
  So, again, I want to say how grateful I am. I will tell my colleagues 
I don't think it is a perfect bill, but everybody here understands it 
is not a perfect bill. Again, I want to thank the Senator from 
California for her decision to take what is a challenging process and 
persevere on an investment strategy that--each and every one of us 
would have written a different one, but at least it got us to this goal 
of making needed investment in critical infrastructure at a time that 
our country needs to be able to move products and get things to 
customers around the globe, and this will very much help in that 
process.
  Again, I thank the staff on both committees, on both sides of the 
aisle, and everybody who was involved in making these policies a 
reality.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I wish to address very briefly the 
comments made by one of the Senators earlier about how bad this bill 
is.
  I think it is important for us to understand that it shows us how 
difficult a bill like this is because we are facing accusations, and it 
is the kind of thing that people would want to believe, but it is just 
not true. We don't have the things that sound good. The Export-Import 
Bank, that is something I had to swallow. I have opposed the Export-
Import Bank every opportunity I have had for the last 20 years.
  Yet this is a huge bill. This is the largest bill in 17 years. The 
most important part of this to me is those who criticize it fail to 
realize that when we take an oath of office, we hold up our hand--every 
Senator does--to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It says 
in the Constitution, the only two things that we are mandated to do in 
article I section 8 is to defend America and roads and bridges.
  Ever since 1956, when Eisenhower came and did the national bill, the 
National Highway System, it has been successful, but where we have 
dropped the ball is we have been failing to have the Transportation 
reauthorization bill. We take into consideration all of the things that 
we are supposed to do, and these are things that we are supposed to do 
in accordance with the Constitution.
  It is easy for me to say this because I have been ranked the most 
conservative Member many times and probably more than anyone else, but 
I recognize that we do have this responsibility.
  Having said that, let me just say that I agree with the comments that 
were made by the majority leader and by Senator Boxer. She and I have 
disagreed more than we have agreed on things, but we have gone through 
a couple of these bills together and people look at us and think, If 
both of them want to do this, there must be something good about them.
  So I have enjoyed working with Senator Boxer. It has been my honor to 
do it. We have actually shocked a lot of people with how well we get 
along. That is not going to happen after this bill, but it did before.
  So let me just say this. I wish to thank some people. I appreciate 
the fact that the Senator from Wyoming recognizes his staff. I look 
around here and I see these two guys. They were up more nights all 
night long than they were sleeping all night long, and this is for a 
long period of time. We have been working on this for a long period of 
time. It is the result of months and months of really hard work.
  In particular I want to thank our EPW team of Alex Herrgott, who was 
trying to drive this thing, and Shant Boyajian, one who does maybe the 
hardest part, the actual road part; he is the expert that pulled that 
through. We also had Chaya Koffman, Susan Bodine, Jennie Wright, Andrew 
Neely, Donelle Harder, Daisy Letendre, and Kristina Baum.
  And Senator Boxer's team: David Napoliello, whom I really enjoyed 
working with. This is funny. I could talk to David just as I talk to 
one of our people here. We all have the same concerns, and so it makes 
it easier. I also thank Andrew Dohrman and Jason Albritton. I would 
include so many others, but I see that Senator Boxer is still here, and 
I would like to just conclude right now. I know Senator Boxer wants to 
recognize some of the people that worked so hard in her shop, and we 
worked with a lot of people.
  I will yield to Senator Boxer.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am so relieved we voted on a 5-year, 
fully-funded surface transportation bill that increases funding for our 
highway and transit programs. This is a monumental accomplishment for 
us all. The Environment and Public Works Committee has led the way to 
achieving the longest surface transportation bill that this country has 
seen in 17 years, which is essential for jobs, for our safety, and for 
our economic standing in the world.
  This bill, which passed the House by a vote of 359 to 65, will 
provide the certainty that our States and local governments need to 
plan and construct improvements to the Nation's surface transportation 
system. It will support millions of jobs and thousands of businesses. 
Our bill has the support of a broad coalition of labor, business, and 
government organizations, including the AFL-CIO, Transportation Trades 
Department of the AFL-CIO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Americans for 
Transportation Mobility Coalition, Teamsters, Transportation 
Construction Coalition, American Road and Transportation Builders 
Association, National Association of Counties, U.S. Conference of 
Mayors, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Governors 
Association, National Association of Manufacturers, American Trucking 
Associations, Highway Materials Group, Associated General Contractors, 
American Farm Bureau Federation, American Traffic Safety Services 
Association, Transport Workers Union, American Society of Civil 
Engineers, International Union of Operating Engineers, Amalgamated 
Transit Union, United Steelworkers, Leadership Conference on Civil and 
Human Rights, Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors, and 
American Association of Port Authorities.
  The FAST Act is a comprehensive bill that, among other things, 
modernizes federal highway and transit programs, motor carrier and 
vehicle safety programs, and includes a passenger rail authorization. 
We should also not forget that it reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank, 
which is so important for jobs and our economic competitiveness.
  It was a mammoth task to put this bill together and it has been a 
roller coaster ride from day one. I am pleased that this entire process 
was jump-started when my dear friend Jim Inhofe, who has been my 
partner on many infrastructure issues, worked with me to pass a highway 
bill out of the EPW Committee on June 24 by a unanimous 20-0 vote. I 
truly believe that it was our overwhelming bipartisan vote that set the 
stage and built momentum for this bill to begin moving through the 
Senate.
  I also want to thank Chairman Shuster and Congressman DeFazio in the 
House. They led a strong bipartisan effort in the House of 
Representatives which allowed us to go to conference with the wind at 
our back, and while it was never an easy negotiation and neither side 
got everything that they wanted, I think we are all pleased with the 
outcome. I want to thank all the

[[Page 19486]]

members of the conference committee, with a special thanks to Senators 
Durbin and Nelson, who are strong supporters of the conference report.
  Let me highlight a few things in this bill that I am so proud of:
  The bill creates and significantly funds two new programs: No. 1, the 
National Highway Freight Program, which will improve goods movement; 
and No. 2, the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects 
Program, a competitive grants program to support major projects.
  It provides $199 million to help commuter railroads install positive 
train control. It includes the Raechel and Jaqueline Houck Safe Rental 
Car Act, to protect consumers from leasing unsafe recalled rental 
vehicles. This cause has been incredibly important to me. I have worked 
tirelessly to get this safety provision into law. It will save lives in 
the future and is an example of the positive things we can do to 
prevent families from suffering from tragedies resulting from defective 
rental cars in the future.
  I have been working for years to pass a long-term transportation 
bill, because our Nation's aging infrastructure needs robust investment 
to keep us competitive in the global marketplace. Our country has over 
61,000 structurally deficient bridges and 50 percent of our Nation's 
roads are in less than good condition. More than 30,000 people die from 
traffic accidents each year.
  The passage of MAP-21, for which I chaired the conference committee 
in 2012, provided 2 years of certainty and made key innovations for 
transportation.
  Now, the FAST Act, which increases highway and transit funding, will 
enable our State and local governments to make new investments to 
improve our roads, bridges, and transit systems, which will improve 
safety, increase mobility, and keep goods moving efficiently. Improving 
our transportation infrastructure should not be a partisan issue, and I 
thank Leader McConnell and Senator Inhofe for working closely with me 
to do the right thing for our country.
  This entire process has been about trust, teamwork, and persistence, 
and I couldn't be more proud of what we have accomplished.
  I would like to thank all of the staff that played an important role 
in this bill. As I have said, getting to this point has been a process 
that would make the workings of a sausage factory look appealing in 
comparison.
  Mr. President, I know it is late, and I know we are all exhausted, 
but you have to mark a moment. I think this bill was such a monumental 
effort and the staffs that we are mentioning--Senator Inhofe is right--
they were working constantly. The reason I know is that I called them 
constantly.
  Senator Inhofe is right again. I called my staff; I called his staff; 
I called Senator Thune's staff. I called everybody's staff. Right? I 
drove them crazy.
  One time my little granddaughter was there, and I was getting into a 
bit of an altercation with a Member from the House, and I whispered to 
my granddaughter: Tell him to help your grandmother.
  She got on the phone and said: Please help my grandmother. She had no 
idea.
  The gentleman on the other end said: Oh, boy, you are tough. OK. We 
got through that night all right.
  I am going to also thank the House family who helped us write the 
Safe Rental Car Act.
  In closing, I am going to read these names on my team: Bettina 
Poirier, David Napoliello, Andrew Dohrmann, Tyler Rushforth, Jason 
Albritton, Ted Illston, Mary Kerr, Kate Gilman, Colin McCarthy, and 
Kathryn Bacher.
  From Senator Inhofe's team, I have to mention them again: Alex 
Hergott, Ryan Jackson, Shant Boyajian, Susan Bodine, Andrew Neely, and 
Chaya Koffman.
  For Leader McConnell: Neil Chatterjee, Hazen Marshall, and many 
others.
  For the Banking Committee staff, I want to thank Mark Powden, Shannon 
Hines, Jennifer Deci, and Homer Carlisle.
  For Senator Nelson: Kim Lipsky, Devon Barnhart, Matt Kelly, and 
Brandon Kaufman.
  For Senator Thune: Dave Schweitert, Adrian Arnakis, Allison Cullen, 
and Patrick Fuchs.
  We built trust, we worked together, and we forged real friendships. I 
will never forget this as long as I live. I am grateful to everyone.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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