REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
JAMES L. OBERSTAR FORUM ON TRANSPORTATION POLICY AND TECHNOLOGY LUNCHEON
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
APRIL 29, 2002
Good afternoon and thank you for the warm welcome. It’s truly an honor to be here with so many distinguished colleagues from the field of transportation.
First and foremost, I’d like to take a moment to recognize all of you who devote your time and talents to building and maintaining this nation’s transportation system as we observe Workers Memorial Day.
For your work, I am profoundly grateful. And to those of you who have lost loved ones in this labor, I extend my deepest sympathies.
This seems an opportune moment to reflect on those whose memories we honor as we are all gathered to discuss the most pertinent issues in transportation today.
This inaugural Forum on Transportation Policy and Technology is a well-deserved testament to Congressman Oberstar. He is a good friend and a national leader in forming transportation policy.
To say that our focus at the United States Department of Transportation changed last fall when our nation was ruthlessly attacked would be a huge understatement.
Before September 11th, security was one of the Department’s top strategic goals.
After September 11th, when transportation itself was used as a weapon, we found that our policy needed a new and broader security focus.
In addition to assuring that the system is not used to do the attacking, we must protect the current system from being attacked.
We at the Department of Transportation have taken, and continue to take, several steps to that end.
Our first response to the September 11th terrorist attack was the formation of the National Infrastructure Security Committee, also known as NISC.
The NISC is an umbrella organization composed of six individual Direct Action Groups. Each group evaluates security in a different mode of transportation. The NISC is also addressing cross-modal issues through the Container Working Group, which studies the security of cross border trucks, aviation containers, and marine cargo.
Shortly after the NISC was established, we formed the Transportation Security Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The largest agency to be created from scratch since World War II, the TSA has been tasked with the awesome responsibility of ensuring, above all else, the security of public transportation.
Our focus encompasses not only a sense of purpose to protect, but also an imperative to enhance the performance of our transportation system. The recent efforts at Baltimore Washington International Airport are a credit to this new approach of purpose and performance.
The TSA successfully implemented world-class airport security measures along with world-class customer service, and as a result, 85% of passengers rated the process a 6 or 7 on a 7-point scale, up from 73% before federal changes.
Immediately following September 11th, our most urgent objective was to counter the vulnerabilities of our air transportation systems. However, the progress made in other modes of transportation is noteworthy as well.
On our highways, many state transportation departments are using cutting-edge technology to assess highway vulnerability. In recognizing the value of preparation, these agencies are going even further to simulate road evacuations and develop emergency response handbooks.
Like the state highway departments, the Office of Pipeline Safety recognizes the value of prevention. It is collaborating with the TSA, the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state governments, and stakeholders to provide a seamless program for the oversight of pipeline security.
The Office of Pipeline Safety is also working with state and local authorities to identify critical facilities and mobilize resources for rapid recovery in the case of an emergency.
Performance and purpose are just as important in our ports and waterways. Competitive grants totaling $93 million will be awarded to seaports to enhance their facilities and increase operational security measures.
Last month, retired Coast Guard Admiral Richard Bennis was appointed to head up Maritime and Land Security at the TSA.
Considering that nearly 7 million passengers and more than 6 million cargo containers enter the United States through our nation's seaports each year, the Coast Guard has developed a three-year Maritime Security Plan to further heighten security at our ports.
This plan will provide long-term tools for security planning and international coordination. This includes giving the Coast Guard broader authority for security operations and enforcement.
Even as we address today’s security concerns, it is crucial that we prepare for the transportation system of tomorrow. We must reauthorize surface transportation programs by the end of fiscal year 2003.
As we proceed to develop this legislation, we must also find ways to build greater security into our transportation system from the ground up, while not losing focus on other important transportation goals.
Congressman Oberstar's support was essential to the passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, or ISTEA, and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21. Together, these landmark pieces of legislation revolutionized federal transportation programs and funding.
I have a set of core principles for the reauthorization of this legislation that will enable us to build on the successes of ISTEA and TEA-21.
I would like to highlight several of those principles.
We must continue to assure adequate and reliable funding for investment in the nation’s surface transportation system.
We must preserve funding flexibility to allow the broadest application of funds to the best transportation solutions identified by our state and local partners.
We must expand and improve the programs of innovative financing, so as to encourage private sector investment in the transportation system, and look for new ways to augment existing revenue streams.
We must emphasize the security of the nation’s surface transportation system.
We must build on the intermodal approaches of ISTEA and TEA-21.
I am excited about working with Congressman Oberstar and his colleagues as this process moves forward.
In that spirit, I am delighted to announce a grant that is an excellent illustration of the benefits of the federal-state partnership fostered by ISTEA and TEA-21. The Federal Transit Authority is providing $49.5 million to assist the Metropolitan Council Transit Operations in the construction of the Hiawatha Avenue light rail line, which will span 11.6 miles and connect citizens to some of the popular spots in the Twin Cities.
We certainly look forward to completion of this project and the mobility it provides to the people of the Twin Cities.
In sum, the immediate security efforts implemented across the Department after September 11th have not diminished the importance of the long-term strategic goals of the Department of Transportation.
September 11th left no one unchanged. The answer to the events of September 11th is to strengthen, not diminish, the right of all Americans to enjoy the freedom of mobility.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the first James L. Oberstar Forum on Transportation Policy and Technology. We are all fortunate to have Jim in the Congress promoting safe and secure transportation policy for all Americans.
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