Date: 2012-02-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to debate the Rules for H.R. 7. "The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012." I believe the transportation bill should have been an open rule. This bill is not a comprehensive bill. When Congress spends taxpayer dollars. we are accountable for how it is spent. As written. this measure limits federal government oversight and therefore limits accountability. I believe. a wellfunctioning transportation system is critical to the Nations prosperity. Whether it is by road. aviation. or rail we rely on our transportation system to move people and goods safely. A properly functioning transportation infrastructure will facilitate commerce. attract and retain businesses. and support jobs. Public transportation benefits the economy in several ways. It helps the right people to get to the right jobs. without wasting otherwise productive hours. It allows employers to tap into various pools of recipients who have no other means of getting to work and it helps customers get to the doors of businesses. For every dollar we invest in running public transportation systems boosts business sales by another three dollars. A $10 million investment in building public transportation systems creates more than 300 jobs. and the same amount spent on running them creates nearly 600 more. Part of the challenge of our transportation system is to ensure that everyone is able to benefit. The GAO would study ways to increase access to the underserved and unrepresented communities. as well as. minority communities. This will help to identify areas that we can work to improve. The GAO would further study how to increase the mobility of the disabled. Public transportation is important to ensure these communities will not only have access to services. businesses. and the community at large. but will also improve their quality of life. Public involvement needs to encompass the full range of community interests. yet people underserved by transportation often do not participate. We need to find ways to reach the underserved. They not only have greater difficulty getting to jobs. schools. recreation. and shopping than the population at large. but often they are also unaware of transportation proposals that could dramatically change their lives. Many lack experience with public involvement. even though they have important. unspoken issues that should be heard. Underserved people include those with special cultural. racial. or ethnic characteristics. Cultural differences sometimes hinder full participation in transportation planning and project development. People with disabilities find access to transportation more difficult and their ability to participate in public involvement efforts more constrained. People with limited resources often lack both access and time to participate. In addition individuals who have not been adequately educated may not be fully aware either of what transportation services are available or of opportunities to help improve them. These groups are a rich source of ideas that can improve transportation not only for themselves but also for the entire community. Agencies must assume responsibility for reaching out and including them in the decisionmaking processwhich requires strategic thinking and tailoring public involvement efforts to these communities and their needs. Techniques to reach the underserved are grouped here under two headings: A thorough study of how this bill will impact cost and jobs. As well as a study on how to improve services to the underserved and underrepresented will insure that there is accountability for how we are using government resources. There is much left to be done in the areas of Transportation in our great Nation. I believe this study is a step in the right direction. Generally. the same transit agencies operate both rail and a bus system. which improves efficiency by ensuring both Systems complement each other. For example. transit agencies can design bus routes that collect passengers from outlying neighborhoods and deliver them to rail transit stations. Congress has always allowed transit systems operating both rail and bus lines to receive bus and bus facility grants. recognizing that bus and rail lines work as part of a complete transit network in large metropolitan areas and that federal policy should support local and regional efforts to maximize the efficiency of transit service. H.R. 7 would reverse this longstanding federal policy. In Houston. TX alone. the City operates 1.300 buses and 7 miles of rail. Denying access to these funds to major metropolitan areas does not make sense. Public transportation benefits the economy in several ways. It helps the right people to get to the right jobs. without wasting otherwise productive hours. It allows employers to tap into various pools of recipients who have no other means of getting to work and it helps customers get to the doors of businesses. In the case of Houston. the light rail system is vital to increase mobility of Houston. Texas population which is forecasted to grow by an additional 9.4 million people by 2035. a 38.9 percent increase over the projected 2010 levels. The same can be said for many urban areas across our Nation. Light rail projects and other transportation investments represent the potential to create thousands of jobs. enhanced mobility. and future economic development for the region. Public transportation is an investment in the truest sense of the word: An outlay today pays out considerable profit down the road. Nationwide. government invests $15.4 billion in public transportation a year. Public transportation generates upwards of $60 billion in economic benefits. Public transportation boosts state and local tax revenues by at least 4 percent and as much as 16 percent. Some 30.000 people work directly for the public transportation industry. which creates thousands more jobs indirectly through fields ranging from engineering to construction. For every dollar we invest in running public transportation systems boosts business sales by another three dollars. A $10 million investment in building public transportation systems creates more than 300 jobs. and the same amount spent on running them creates nearly 600 more. To be sure. public transportation systems are not cheap to build or run. however. public transportation pays for itself several times over. And if a stronger economy is the destination we seek. public transit is the fastest way to get there. These funds could be used to fix buses. bus shelters. and bus facilities. With the recent uptick in fuel prices more people are opting to ride the bus. In addition. the bus system also is vital resource for the disable and seniors who rely on these services for transportation. The TE program funds projects that build bus shelters. This would encourage even more people to opt for public transportation. Shelters safeguard passengers against the sun. wind. and rain. Texas has heat waves and many other parts of the country have inclement weather. Funding the building of bus shelters may not be a priority for some. but to the people who are standing waiting for the bus it makes a world of difference. In addition. bus stops are extremely important for people with disabilities. The inaccessibility of bus stops often represents the weak link in the system and can effectively prevent the use of fixedroute service. This can severely hamper bus ridership by disability community. and thereby limit their mobility. Increasing the accessibility of fixedroute service under the TE program will decrease paratransit costs. Since 1983. when the Surface Transportation Assistance Act was signed into law. 2.86 cents in motor fuels taxes has been deposited into the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund to provide a dedicated stable source of funding for public transportation programs. H.R. 7 eliminates the Mass Transit Account and dedicates that 2.86 cents to highway programs. The bill moves transit and other public transportation programs into a new "Alternative Transportation Fund." which would be dependent on appropriations from general revenue. Although the bill makes a onetime transfer of $40 billion into the Alternative Transportation Fund to cover funding for those programs through the life of the bill. there is no guarantee for public transportation funding beyond FY 2016. Such a reality would make it difficult. if not impossible. for transit agencies to develop reliable longterm capital plans. and it would leave the future of the program in doubt. Public transportation agencies around the country are already struggling to maintain current levels of service and keep the system in a state of good repair. Removing federally guaranteed funding could result in a virtual construction and service freeze. the effects of which would be felt by riders. businesses. contractors. manufacturers and suppliers around the country. Transit agencies may have to take on more debt in order to finance capital projects. and it could result in increased fares for our constituents. There is no reason to make such a drastic change in how we finance public transportation. Our amendment would restore the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and the 2.86 cents dedicated funding stream for public transportation programs. It would eliminate the Alternative Trust Fund. make the Highway Trust Fund whole. and allow it to once again fund both highways and mass transit.