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Summary of Rep. Earl Blumenauer's Stakeholders Meeting on the Financing of the Reauthorization Bill - 10/26/09

On 10/26/09, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR/Ways and Means) held a stakeholders meeting to discuss the financing options and opportunities available for the reauthorization of the surface transportation bill. Congressman Blumenauer stated that he truly believes there will be a meaningful 5-6 month extension of SAFETEA-LU, instead of the 18-month extension proposed by the administration. Moreover, Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee are considering several measures to "frontload" the funding of the eventual six-year reauthorization bill. These funds would substitute for the absence of a gas tax increase, which he mentioned neither made practical nor political sense in the next two years. After speaking with officials in the White House, Rep. Blumenauer thinks that these (and most likely some combination of these) are revenue-raising measures that the administration would support: -H.R. 3202 - Establishes a Water Protection and Reinvestment Fund through an excise tax on the sale of containers of water-based beverages, water disposal products, and pharmaceutical products, as well as, a clean water tax on corporations. -H.R. 564 - Superfund Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Reauthorizes the Superfund until January 2018 by reinstating the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax. -Some form of tax on oil, be it futures or per barrel (or some other form), is still on the table. -Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Tax is seen as a sound user-based solution for long term financing and may be included in some form. -Eventually, a gas tax index priced for inflation will garner some discussion, but most likely not in this reauthorization. This stream of funds would conceivably be placed into an Infrastructure Bank and would create a funding program for the difference between the money available now and the requirements that the full reauthorization requires. Also, Blumenauer would prefer to squeeze more value out of the ARRA stimulus money still out there and streamline that system rather than create de facto policy. This is an area where Rep. Blumenauer specifically is requesting some input from the stakeholders as to what has and has not worked thus far with the stimulus funding program. Blumenauer mentioned that there are two main problems moving forward. The first is concerning the Obama administration's skepticism in the ability to circulate funds fast enough to make a difference with jobs and the economy within the next year. Both the administration and members of the House are very interested in learning more on how much and how fast they can pump dollars through the system, since this was seen as one of the failures of the first round of the stimulus money. Secondly, he posited that there has been a collapse of bipartisan support in problem solving in Washington. Blumenauer wants the reauthorization bill to have a third of House Republicans back to the bill, which he thinks is both realistic and necessary push it through Congress. The task in the months ahead is for Congressmen, and all of the groups involved in the process, to hold events in their districts in order to begin a dialogue about the importance of infrastructure investment for jobs and the economy. The goal here is to align the various constituencies around this issue, which will help in raising its significance here in Washington. Ways & Means Chairman Rangel and Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Chairman Neal both want more money for transportation and Rep. Blumenauer was encouraged by their interest in taking up this issue despite the full plate of issues already on the agenda. Finally, Blumenauer mentioned that we can expect a Ways & Means hearing or two in the coming months regarding financing transportation, as well as, a document that will be emailed out and circulated to the various stakeholders seeking input on specific funding issues.

Summary of House T&I Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Hearing, "High Speed Rail in the US: Opportunities and Challenges"

On October 14, 2009, the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials held a hearing titled, "High Speed Rail in the United States: Opportunities and Challenges." The witnesses included: Panel 1: -Joe Szabo - FRA Administrator -Frank Busalacchi - Secretary, Wisconsin DOT and Chair, States for Passenger Rail Coalition -Susan Fleming - Director, GAO -Patrick Simmons - Rail Division Director, North Carolina DOT and AASHTO representative Panel 2: -Petra Todorovich - Director, America 2050 -Thomas Carper - Chairman, Amtrak Board of Directors -Bob Scardelletti - President, Transportation Communications International Union -Michael Pracht - President & CEO, US Railcar LLC -Robert Baugh - Executive Director of the Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO -Nicholas Rubio - President, Cintra US -Ed Hamberger - President & CEO, AAR Both the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL-03) and Ranking Member, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA-09), expressed in their opening statements the desire to see one or two actual high-speed lines implemented, as opposed to spreading the ARRA allocated $8 billion across a vast number of projects. The Ranking Member of the full T&I Committee, Rep. John Mica (R-FL-07), declared that he would raise the roof off of the capitol building if true high-speed rail service was not established in the Northeast Corridor (NEC). After opening statements from Reps. Napolitano (D-CA-38); Perriello (D-VA-05); Cao (R-LA-02); Markey (D-CO-04); Schauer (D-MI-07); Richardson (D-CA-37); Teague (D-NM-02); and McMahon (D-NY-13), Chairman Oberstar stated that his committee must help in advancing the establishment high-speed rail service in America. FRA Administrator Joe Szabo was quick to point out that the committee need not be obsessed over fast a given train goes, but rather, look at the overall efficiency and reliability of the service. He said that in considering high speed proposals, FRA was working on managing sustainability and expectations, looking to the capability of the states, freight and passenger partnerships, and safety. Szabo also remarked that FRA will deliver a National Rail Plan on time by this Friday, 10/16. Szabo was mum on the types of high speed projects that would get selected for funding, however he did say that it was not likely for FRA to announce the awards before the end of this year but rather sometime "this winter." When pressed by Rep. Brown about labor issues, Szabo stated that anyone who receives federal money will be held to the federal railroad laws, including Railroad Retirement, Railway Labor Act and the various safety laws. Another major issue discussed was the usage of private sector dollars to leverage projects so that an "8 to 1" ratio of private to public dollars could be achieved. Many of the witnesses' testimonies cited the various European and Asian systems as examples and models for how these systems were created by a strong sustained and long term federal financial commitment. Finally, AAR's Ed Hamberger discussed their commitment to high-speed rail service by their active participation in the OneRail Coalition (of which the NRC is a member). Hamberger declared that while America deserves the best passenger rail system in the world, this cannot be achieved at the expense of limiting the existing freight network and without partnerships made between the freight and passenger railroads. Moreover, Hamberger ascertained that safety must be a top priority, capacity concerns must be addressed, freight railroads should receive full compensation for the use of their assets, and finally, that the liability issue that would not have resulted but for the added presence of passenger rail service needs to be properly addressed. A link to the webcast of this hearing is available here: http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=1024.

Summary of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing, "Transportation's Role in Climate Change and Reducing Greenhouse Gases."

Witnesses Panel 1: -Ray LaHood, USDOT Secretary -Regina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, US EPA Panel 2: -Ralph Becker, Mayor of Salt Lake City, UT -David Bragdon, President of Portland Metro Council -Steve Winkelman, Director of Adaptation and Transportation Programs, Center for Clean Air Policy -Ray Kuntz, CEO of Watkins and Shepard Trucking A majority of the committee members' opening statements and subsequent discussion points were concerning the need for increased fuel efficiency and decreased emissions from cars. Most of the discussion thereafter was in regards to the Waxman-Markey ACES (American Clean Energy and Security Act) bill recently passed in the House and now being debated in the Senate. Many Republicans held reservations about the sizable expense of a cap-and-trade system, whereas Democrats maintained that this legislation is essential to stave off gas price increases from overseas and cut carbon emissions. Secretary LaHood's testimony highlighted USDOT-EPA-HUD's Interagency "Partnership for Sustained Communities," which is a partnership that promotes development of transit rail networks that work in concert with environmentally-friendly land use techniques and access to housing. Ms. McCarthy also mentioned the importance of transportation's inclusion into the climate bill, of which it accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of oil consumption. Senator Voinovich (R-OH) again brought up the question of how the administration intends to pay for all of its proposed transportation investments in rail and an 18-month extension of the HTF. Sec. LaHood was fairly mum on the subject although he stated that between the stimulus money, the National Infrastructure Bank proposal, and tolling, there should be enough money to cover the 18-month window until Congress crafts a new Reauthorization bill in cooperation with the Administration. The only matter of real importance in the 2nd panel was when Ray Kuntz, the CEO of a trucking company, admitted to there being a need for more investment in other modes, even freight rail. A link to the webcast of this hearing is available here: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Home.

Summary of the Environment and Public Works Committee Markup of Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2009 - 7/15/09

Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) made some brief statements about the urgency of passing an extension before the August recess to prevent the HTF from running out of money. She also noted that with the inclusion of extensions from the other relevant committees and the stimulus money, the funding for transportation would be increased 50% in this extension from the levels that SAFETEA-LU authorized. Next, two small technical amendments offered by Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) were unanimously agreed to. Then, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) introduced an amendment to make the extension 12 months instead of 18 in order to keep pressure on Congress to pass the larger Reauthorization bill, while still providing assurance of funding to states. Senator Boxer countered by stating that she did not want to pass extension after extension again and an 18-month extension provides more certainty to the states than does a 12-month one. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) agreed, and mentioned that the timing of a 12-month extension would require the Senate to hear Congressional reelection speeches this time next year. After a closer-than-expected roll call vote, the Yeas were 8 and Nays were 11 on this amendment. Senator Inhofe then introduced an amendment on behalf of Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) regarding highways and rescissions. Since there was support from both Chairman Boxer and Senator Inhofe, the Committee agreed to address this concern on the Senate floor when there will be opportunities to offer amendments. However, so that the Committee could send a "clean" bill to the floor as soon as possible, this amendment was voted down. The final passage vote was 18-1 in favor of sending this proposed bill (with the 2 technical amendments) to the floor. Senator Voinovich--on his birthday--was the lone no vote and was promised a better present later in the day. A link to the webcast of the full hearing is available here: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=670a542b-802a-23ad-4cf3-98e5da069b30.

Urgent Safety Recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board

To view the NTSB safety recommendation letter sent to Metro, click here: http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2009/R09_6.pdf. Below is the follow-up letter sent by the FTA: Dear Colleague: I write to you today to follow-up on an urgent recommendation the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as the result of a preliminary analysis of the causes of the deadly Washington Metro Red Line heavy rail collision on June 22, 2009. As you know, nine persons died and 70 persons were injured as the result of this two-train collision. The NTSB has determined, as a preliminary matter, that the Washington Metro train control system was susceptible to a single point failure. The system did not fail-safe and stop the train when train detection was lost. The NTSB has concluded that Washington Metro's train control lacked adequate safety redundancy that would have included timely alerts of system failures and compensation for intermittent failures or other anomalies in train detection. The NTSB has asked that we immediately issue an advisory to all transit rail operators around the country to address the potential safety vulnerability. Specifically, we are asking that all train operators that have train control systems capable of monitoring train movements determine whether their systems have adequate safety redundancy if losses in train detection occur. If a system is susceptible to single point failure, we urge you take corrective action immediately to add redundancy by evaluating track occupancy data on a real-time basis to automatically generate alerts and speed restrictions to prevent train collisions. We at the FTA and the U.S. Department of Transportation hold safety as our number one priority. I request that you focus immediate attention on this important safety concern. For the purposes of verification, we will be following-up shortly with requests for information on specific train control systems and what compensating systems you have been able to develop if you have determined that a single point failure could occur. We also expect to serve as a clearinghouse to share information regarding industry best practices in addressing this issue. Thank you very much for your immediate and priority attention to this matter. Please call me directly on (202) 366-4040 if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely yours, Peter M. Rogoff

Summary of "Public Transportation: A Core Climate Solution" hearing from Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee - 7/7/2009

The witnesses included: Mr. Michael A. Replogle, Global Policy Director, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, and Policy and Strategy Consultant, Environmental Defense Fund; Mr. Clint Andrews, Professor and Director, Urban Planning and Policy Development Program in the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University; The Honorable Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor of West Sacramento, California, and Board Member, Sacramento Area Council of Governments; Mr. Ernest Tollerson, Director of Policy and Media Relations, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, State of New York; and Mr. Randal O'Toole, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute. Chairman Dodd (D-CT) opened the hearing by voicing his concern for the Administration's 18-month delay for Reauthorization, as well as, stating that developing faster intercity and commuter rail in the Tri-City Corridor (New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield) is "one of my top priorities." Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Warner (D-VA) were on hand to hear Mr. Replogle's testimony, which was concerned primarily with the issue of creating both more fuel efficient vehicles and public policies that are performance driven and remove superfluous barriers for transit projects. Professor Andrews stated in his testimony that the climate problem is large enough to merit a multiple-sector response, of which transportation is a key player. He argued that more transportation planning should be devolved to the localities as there are a multitude of factors that affect each project and the funding should follow the planning. West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon spoke about the need to couple transportation and land use policies and he went on to describe the blueprint that his city has drafted in dealing with this issue. Randal O'Toole spouted a swath of questionable data showing that spending in transit has led to decreased ridership and that transit consumes massive amounts of energy. Mr. O'Toole also said that the climate crisis was not caused by the failure of transit investment, but rather this spending was the culprit of the energy problem. His bottom line was that Congress should look to make cars more energy efficient not provide incentives or subsidies to change people's behavior. Mr. Tollerson described NYMTA's approach to cutting carbon emissions and submitted their proposal for what action the Senate should take in relation to the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 recently passed in the House. NYMTA's proposal is in conjunction with APTA's recommendations, including devoting 7.5% into transit funding and 2.5% into greening and improving the efficiency of existing public transportation systems. An archive of the hearing will be made available soon at: http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.Video.

Summary of "High-Speed Passenger Rail: How Fast Will It Get Here?" from Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation - Subcommittee Hearing - 6/23/2009

The witnesses included: The Honorable Edward G. Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, Co-Chair, Building America's Future; The Honorable Robert Eckels, Chairman, Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation; The Honorable Joseph Szabo, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration; Ms. Susan Fleming, Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office; The Honorable Joseph Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amtrak; Mr. Tom Skancke, Commissioner, National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Subcommittee Chairman Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) provided opening remarks reiterating their support and commitment to the Obama vision for High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail in America. Sen. Rockefeller went on to say that High-Speed Rail is inevitable and a part of America's destiny. Subcommittee Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) raised several points in regards to the great financial risks absorbed by the American taxpayer if the federal government does a poor job in distributing High-Speed Rail funds. Sen. Thune said his concern is that the government tends to spread small amounts of money amongst a great many projects, which leads to wasteful spending and the lackluster completion of projects. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) voiced her support of developing the "Texas T-bone corridor" and its potential to be the leading example of a successful high-speed rail corridor. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) stated his concern that the Southwest was not included in the designation of the ten high-speed rail corridors and he alluded to the success of commuter rail in New Mexico as a pitch for its possible inclusion in future corridor planning. Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) repeatedly mentioned that America should not settle for a second class High-Speed Rail system by simply improving existing services by bringing speeds up to 110 mph. Rather, the U.S. should build true High-Speed Rail networks of 200 mph (or more) and failure to do so consigns us to being a second rate nation. Governor Rendell spoke in favor of the long term job creation that could come about as a result, as well as, G.E.'s pledge to build high-speed diesel locomotives that can run 110-124 mph. He also voiced his support for a National Infrastructure Bank run by transportation experts and members of Congress to be funded by both the national climate change bill now in the Congress and by establishing a capital budget where the federal government would score what it pays for each year. FRA Administrator Joe Szabo was quick to counter Gov. Rendell's statements by positing that in many of the designated corridors, improved service of existing passenger trains would be a significant step towards realizing the goal of a national passenger rail network. Szabo also reinforced the idea that selection for the ARRA funding is merit-based and that the outreach forums FRA has held with its stakeholders have been crucial to the eventual success of the program. Furthermore, Szabo argued that Congress and the administration must craft a "National Transportation Plan" addressing the overlaying of freight, commuter, transit, and intercity networks for seemless national connection. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) asked Szabo--in light of yesterday's Metro crash--whether PTC would be implemented if high speed service is created before the 2015 mandate, to which Szabo responded that High-Speed Rail and PTC work hand-in-hand and some element is necessary in order to run true high speed service. In response to Senator Thune's question about making sure that FRA is wary of faulty forecasts for some of the proposed projects, Szabo declared that FRA is up to the challenge and aware that the failure to select successful projects will jeopardize a generation worth of funding. In a follow up question, Sen. Thune asked Szabo whether or not after spending $13 billion will there exist even one high-speed rail corridor able to run European or Japanese style high-speed trains. Szabo, in response, mentioned that FRA's focus is on project build outs that help to establish high speed corridors and no prerequisites exist in the FRA guidelines for completion of entire corridors. Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman made the case that when it comes to the discussion of High-Speed Rail, the focus should be on trip time, market relevance and frequency as opposed to speed. Also, Amtrak wants to reduce slower speeds in order to speed up its service and trim down trip time. In that same vein, Judge Robert Eckels of the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation, said that the key to being ahead of schedule and under budget is getting solid funding now to do market and environmental studies in order to understand the issues within each market and corridor. Susan Fleming from GAO talked about the factors that effect economic viability. GAO determined that High-Speed Rail projects are costly and demand long term funding commitment and therefore must be weighed according to perceived ridership increases, cost and public benefits. Also, she argued that the FRA Strategic Plan is more of a vision than a plan because it lacks detailed goals for the future development of the program. Finally, Tom Skancke, Commissioner, National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, offered three policy changes to the new Reauthorization bill that Congress will undertake. First, America needs an immediate cultural change in how we think about transportation policy (focusing more on rail and less on cars). Second, the time it takes to complete rail projects must be reduced (he mentioned that taking 25 years to complete a New Starts Program is far too long). Third, projects must be performance-based and outcome driven. He also echoed Szabo's sentiments that the nation as a whole does not have a long term plan for transportation and it will become increasingly challenging the longer this task is delayed. A video of the hearing is available here: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream&Hearing_id=648ade58-c0fa-43db-82b3-9e71eefa9259.

Summary of Chairman Oberstar's News Conference on Release of The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 Blueprint

On 6/18/09, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN-8) and Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL-7) released The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009: A Blueprint for Investment and Reform. Chairman Oberstar asserted that the Committee will likely have legislative language ready by early next week with hopes of a markup by the end of the week. Moreover, he ascertained that the T&I Committee is committed to getting this bill onto the House floor by the end of July. Both Reps. Oberstar and Mica stated that the overarching goal in drafting this blueprint was to reshape and restructure the DOT by combining and condensing certain programs in order to transform the nation's surface transportation framework and provide the necessary investment to carry out this vision. Both Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica expressed considerable concern and disapproval in regards the DOT and Secretary LaHood's announcement of an immediate 18-month highway reauthorization stressing that the Congress will work even harder in a bipartisan fashion to pass this bill in the absence of leadership from the administration. Chairman Oberstar declared that delay will cause uncertainty and restrict the scope of projects and that it is very important to move the process forward. Furthermore, Rep. Mica argued that this will be the most important jobs bill in the next year and reiterated that Congress must pass it before the end of the year. In fact, to prove that this legislation is "shovel ready" both Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica grabbed a hold of an actual shovel for a photo op. Specifically the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009: * Redefines the Federal role and restructures Federal surface transportation by consolidating or terminating more than 75 programs * Consolidates the majority of highway funding in four, core formula categories designed to bring our highway and bridge systems to a state of good repair; improve highway safety; develop new and improved capacity; and reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality * Focuses the majority of transit funding in four core categories to bring urban and rural public transit systems to a state of good repair; provide specific funding to restore transit rail systems; provide mobility and access to transit-dependent individuals; and plan, design, and construct new transit lines and intermodal facilities * Directs Federal highway safety investments to specific activities demonstrated to reduce fatalities and injuries on our roads * Establishes new initiatives to address the crippling congestion in major metropolitan regions, and eliminate bottlenecks in freight transportation * Creates a National Transportation Strategic Plan, based on long-range highway, transit, and rail plans developed by States and metropolitan regions, to develop intermodal connectivity of the nation's transportation system and identify projects of national significance * Reforms the U.S. Department of Transportation to require intermodal planning and decision-making; ensure that projects are planned and completed in a timely manner; and ensure that DOT programs advance the livability of communities * Requires States and local governments to establish transportation plans with specific performance standards; measure their progress annually in meeting these standards; and periodically adjust their plans as necessary to achieve specific objectives * Improves the project delivery process by eliminating duplication in documentation and procedures * Establishes a new program to finance planning, design, and construction of high-speed rail * Creates a National Infrastructure Bank to better leverage limited transportation dollars * Provides funding of $450 billion over six years - the minimum amount needed to stop the decline in our surface transportation system, begin to make improvements, and restore and enhance the nation's mobility and economic productivity. The Surface Transportation Authorization Act:   --Doubles the investment in highway and motor carrier safety to $12.6 billion   --Provides $337.4 billion for highway construction investment, including at least $100 billion for Capital Asset Investment to begin to restore the National Highway System (including the Interstate System) and the nation's bridges to a state of good repair   --Provides $87.6 billion from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and $12.2 billion from the General Fund for public transit investment to restore the nation's public transit systems to a state of good repair, and provide access and transportation choices to all Americans from large cities to small towns * Within this $450 billion investment, the Act provides $50 billion for Metropolitan Mobility and Access to unlock the congestion that chokes major metropolitan regions; and $25 billion for Projects of National Significance to enhance U.S. global competitiveness by increasing the focus on goods movement and freight mobility * In addition to this $450 billion investment, the Act provides $50 billion over six years to develop 11 authorized high-speed rail corridors linking major metropolitan regions in the United States. The high-speed rail initiative will provide greater consideration for projects that: encourage intermodal connectivity; produce energy, environmental, and other public benefits; create new jobs; and leverage contributions from state and private sources * The $450 billion for highway, highway safety, and transit investment over six years is a 38 percent increase above the current funding level ($326 billion). The Surface Transportation Authorization Act also provides an additional $50 billion investment for high-speed rail. Together, this $500 billion investment will create or sustain approximately six million family-wage jobs. To read the full Blueprint, click here: http://transportation.house.gov/Media/file/Highways/HPP/Surface%20Transportation%20Blueprint.pdf