Senate bill focuses on freight
Sen. Frank Lautenberg and two Democratic colleagues on Thursday introduced legislation to jump-start federal policymaking and investment in freight-related infrastructure rather than wait for uncertain progress towards a comprehensive surface transportation reauthorization bill.
In an effort to draw more broad-based support, the bill links intermodal capacity investments on high-volume freight corridors with improving the environment, safety and reducing congestion.
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| Lautenberg |
The FREIGHT Act of 2010 (S. 3629) incorporates several goals espoused for years by freight transportation interests, including the establishment of an Office of Freight Planning and Development in the Department of Transportation that would coordinate efforts to improve the efficiency and operation of all freight transportation modes, the development of a national freight policy to guide infrastructure investment, and the creation of a multimodal, performance-based infrastructure grant program modeled on the 2009 TIGER grant program in the stimulus act.
Under the bill, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, and councils of governments are eligible to directly apply for grants through the merit-based grant competition rather than having to go through state transportation departments to get a share of federal funds.
'Poor planning and underinvestment in our transportation infrastructure has led to increased congestion at our ports, highways, airports, and railways, and increases the cost of doing business. If we want to help U.S. businesses succeed and create new jobs, we need a freight transportation system that works better and can grow with the changing needs of the global economy. This bill would put us on that path,' Lautenberg said in a statement.
Lautenberg is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee on surface transportation and merchant marine infrastructure, safety and security.
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| Murray |
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
In addition to improving intermodal capacity on high volume freight corridors, the bill sets goals for environmental, safety and reducing congestion.
The lawmakers said the bill is intended to:
' Reduce delays on roads and highways that connect international ports with the rest of the nation.
' Make traffic flow more smoothly on major freight corridors between ports, manufacturing facilities and population centers.
' Reduce by 10 percent the number of fatalities related to freight transportation.
' Reduce carbon dioxide levels associated with freight transportation by 40 percent by 2030.
' Reduce freight-related air, water and noise pollution impacts on the environment and communities.
Regions and public-private partnerships that apply for competitive infrastructure grants have a better chance of winning an award by including programs, such as clean diesel truck mandates to operate in ports, that address those goals.
'The National Freight Infrastructure Investment Grants program proposed in this bill would be an important addition to the federal toolbox. It would help fund exactly the type of multimodal, multijurisdictional, major transportation infrastructure projects that have historically been overlooked by the federal transportation investment process,' said Chuck Baker, president of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, in a statement.
The bill does not address funding amounts or mechanisms because the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over spending accounts, said Leslie Blakey, executive director of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors, in a conference call with reporters.
The group strongly endorsed the FREIGHT Act as a way to improve mobility and economic competitiveness.
Scott Belcher, president of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, stressed that the bill places a strong emphasis on infrastructure modernization by using technology, such as weigh-in-motion truck credentialing systems, to optimize efficiency and wring extra capacity from the existing transportation system.
It also encourages private investment and innovative financing outside the normal appropriation process and distribution of fuel taxes.
The legislation gives transportation interests the ability to address freight needs without waiting for Congress and the Obama administration to agree on a full surface transportation reauthorization bill, Blakey said. Many Capitol Hill observers believe Congress may not take up a reauthorization bill until well after the presidential election in November, or 2011. The last multiyear reauthorization bill, SAFETEA-LU, expired in September 2009 and programs are being funded at those levels.
Blakey said developing a funding source for freight improvements is a good idea 'because otherwise it's hard to get votes to raise money without increasing the deficit.'
Supporters said they will try to get the bill through the Commerce Committee and see if it can be cobbled together with a reauthorization bill or move ahead as stand-alone legislation. ' Eric Kulisch
