H. Res. 567

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 7, 2002.

Whereas prior to 1890, the United States lacked a holistic,

intermodal surface transportation system that linked

rural towns and farmland to urban areas and cities for

the purposes of travel and interstate commerce;

Whereas the emergence of the automobile and truck after

1900 created a public demand and economic need for improved roads, highways, and byways;

Whereas the United States transportation construction industry has built 3,900,000 miles of roadways, 200,000 miles

of freight and passenger railroad track, and 5,800 miles

of mass transit track with more than 2,300 stations;

Whereas the construction of roads and highways requires the

skills of numerous occupations, including those in the

contracting, engineering, planning and design, materials

supply, manufacturing, distribution, and safety industries;

Whereas by 2020 the number of registered vehicles in the

United States is expected to grow from 225,000,000 to

about 275,000,000, requiring improvements to roads and

highways;
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Whereas the industries which design, construct, and maintain

roads and highways generate $200,000,000,000 for the

economy annually and sustain about 2,200,000 jobs;

Whereas the advent of the truck, and technological advances

expanding its cargo capacity, dramatically increased the

ability of the United States to transport goods more

quickly and efficiently;

Whereas the trucking industry had $606,000,000,000 in

gross freight revenues, representing 87.5 percent of the

Nation’s freight bill in 2000;

Whereas intercity trucks logged 1,093,000,000 ton-miles in

1999, representing almost 30 percent of the total domestic intercity ton-miles logged by all modes;

Whereas commercial trucks consumed more than

44,000,000,000 gallons of fuel and paid $30,500,000,000

in Federal and State highway-user taxes in 1999;

Whereas by 2013 the total number of commercial trucks will

increase by a third, from 6,000,000 to 8,000,000;

Whereas there were 3,090,000 truck drivers in 2000 and

9,900,000 employed throughout the United States economy in jobs that relate to the trucking industry in 1999;

Whereas trucks transported more than 83 percent of the

value of trade between the United States and Mexico and

more than 73 percent between the United States and

Canada in 1999;

Whereas prior to the development of a national system of

roads and highways for automobiles and trucks, the railway system served as the primary mode of interstate

travel for the American public and facilitated goods

movement throughout the United States;
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Whereas America’s freight railroads carry more than 40 percent of the Nation’s intercity freight, including approximately 70 percent of vehicles from domestic manufacturers and more than 65 percent of the Nation’s coal to

coal-fired plants;

Whereas railroads in the United States originated nearly

33,000,000 carloads of freight, including more than

9,000,000 intermodal trailers and containers, and had a

freight volume of 1,530,000,000,000 ton-miles in 2000;

Whereas on average it costs 29 percent less to move freight

by rail in 2000 than it did in 1981 and 59 percent less

in inflation-adjusted dollars;

Whereas from 1980 to 2001 Class I freight railroads invested

more than $290,000,000,000 to maintain and improve

infrastructure and equipment and reduced the number of

train accidents per million train-miles by 64 percent;

Whereas the railroad industry employed more than 230,000

workers in 2001, including engineers, conductors, clerks,

executives, and maintenance workers;

Whereas railways and railroads move people and commodities

in an efficient way and contribute more than

$30,000,000,000 to the economy through wages, fringe

benefits, purchases, and taxes;

Whereas intercity buses provided passenger and package express service to over 4,000 communities nationwide, most

of which have no other form of public intercity transportation;

Whereas intercity buses carry over 770,000,000 passengers

annually and provide a variety of services, including

fixed-route, charter and tour, airport express, and longhaul commutes;
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Whereas intercity buses provide an integral link in the intermodal network serving airports, train stations, and transit hubs throughout the Nation;

Whereas the public transportation system in the United

States includes buses, trolley-buses, vanpools, jitneys,

heavy railways, light railways, commuter railways, cable

cars, monorails, aerial tramways, and ferryboats;

Whereas Americans used public transportation a record

9,500,000,000 times in 2001 and transit ridership has

grown 23 percent since 1995;

Whereas public expenditures to operate, maintain, and invest

in public transportation systems in America amount to

about $23,500,000,000 each year;

Whereas there are more than 360,000 transit employees who

work to operate, maintain, and manage America’s public

transportation system;

Whereas public transit helps to reduce vehicular traffic congestion on roads and highways and leads to cleaner air;

Whereas public transit continues to be one of the safest

modes of travel and helps conserve energy and reduce

America’s dependency on foreign oil; and

Whereas public transit has provided the elderly and millions

of Americans with disabilities expanded mobility and freedom to travel United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes

the transportation construction, trucking, railroad, intercity

bus, and passenger transit industries, and those professionals

who design, operate, build, and maintain the rights of way
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along which trucks, freight trains, buses, and commuter

trains travel—

(1) for the immense contribution they make to the

economy by facilitating international and interstate commerce;

(2) for their contribution to the freedom of the traveling public which uses roads, highways, and railways for

the purposes of business and leisure; and

(3) for their conscientious effort to improve safety,

increase efficiency, and better the environment in communities throughout the United States.

Attest:

Clerk.