REMARKS
PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RODNEY E. SLATER
PRESS CONFERENCE MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
ROLL-OUT REPORT TO CONGRESS
SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the transmittal of the Department of Transportation’s 1999 report, "An Assessment of the United States Marine Transportation System" to Congress.
Let me thank our co-chairpeople of the Marine Transportation System Task Force, Administrator Clyde Hart and Admiral James Loy, for taking a very active leadership role in bringing this report to fruition.
Working together with over a dozen federal agencies and departments represented today by Major General Russell Furhman of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Under Secretary Michael Dunn of the United States Department of Agriculture, and Mr. Richard Barazotto of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, several dozen private sector partners, represented by Mr. Edward Emmitt of the National Industrial Transportation League, Mr. Kurt Nagle of the American Association of Port Authorities, and Mr. Richard DuMoulin of Intertanko, and with the outstanding support of every member of the Marine Transportation System Task Force -- today we’ve achieved a major milestone in very short order.
I thank you and I applaud your commitment to ensuring that the American people continue to enjoy the safest, the most secure and the most effective Marine Transportation System in the world.
Let me also thank Senators Hollings, Breaux and Inouye, Chairman Shuster and Congressmen Gilchrest, Oberstar, and DeFazio for their invaluable leadership and continued support.
Much has been accomplished over the past 18 months, beginning with the Marine Transportation System (MTS) Rollout in March of last year and culminating in today’s transmittal of the MTS report to Congress.
As we move into the new century and the new millennium this in-depth assessment challenges all of us to continue moving forward. As President Clinton said, "now is not a time to rest, but a time to build." Our efforts to revitalize the nation’s marine transportation system is indeed a priority in a truly global economy. And let me say clearly -- for this Administration -- it is, and will remain, a top priority at the Department of Transportation.
The MTS report is our blueprint to ensure that America’s Marine Transportation System is ever ready to compete, and win, in the global economy of the 21st Century.
Let me share with you some of the report’s major recommendations.
* Improve coordination between local, regional and national stakeholders with the creation of a Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council and an Interagency Committee on the Marine Transportation System.
* Address MTS funding issues to better coordinate and forecast funding demands and explore ways to innovative financing mechanisms.
* Achieve the vision for system mobility and competitiveness in order to enhance the efficient movement of people and cargo.
* Improve awareness of the marine transportation system through outreach programs to educate and inform the public.
* Establish information management systems and infrastructure support to improve hydrographic and weather information; vessel, cargo and passenger tracking methods; and waterway traffic management.
* Meet national security objectives by increasing awareness of the growing threat of cargo theft, smuggling and terrorism and ensuring readiness in time of national emergency.
* And finally, achieve safety and environmental objectives through the development of a systematic approach to identifying and addressing safety and environmental risks and best management practices.
As a first task I will create the MTS National Advisory Council so that our stakeholders have a voice that’s clearly heard. Second, we will review these key recommendations, and take action.
Clearly, there is much to be done, and much is riding on the results.
Our nation’s economic growth could very well outperform our marine transportation capacity over the next 20 years. But instead, this blueprint will ensure that waterborne commercial transportation will be a catalyst to our country’s future prosperity.
As the world’s only naval superpower, and the leading maritime trading nation, our marine transportation system is critical to our role as a global power and to our vision as a nation.
Over the last six and half years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have led America in preparing for the 21st Century. First they put America’s fiscal house in order.
Under the President’s and Vice President’s leadership we now have a balanced budget, the strongest economy in a generation, nearly 19 million new jobs, and the lowest unemployment in 30 years.
Second, the Clinton-Gore Administration has focused on long-term growth. That is why this administration has brought special attention to marine transportation issues -- committing our nation to creating sustainable ports for the 21st Century.
As President Clinton has said, we must help our ports and harbors remain competitive in the new century "by deepening them for the newest and largest ships, and by providing state-of-the-art navigation tools for preventing marine accidents."
When we began our quest 18 months ago, I made a pledge to all of you to "do whatever it takes to make our nation’s maritime industry ready for the next century." With continued vigilance and partnership the MTS report will help us create a world-class marine transportation system in the 21st Century.
Working together -- ever visionary and vigilant -- our nation’s waterways, ports and intermodal connections can, and will, meet the needs of all users while providing safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible transportation for the American people and throughout world.
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