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THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
U.S.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION’S “TRANSPORTATION POLICIES AND PRIORITIES FOR
ECONOMIC GROWTH CONFERENCE”
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
JUNE 12, 2003
NOON
Good afternoon,
everyone, and thank you, Bruce for that kind introduction.
Before I begin, I’d
also thank the National Chamber Foundation for its tremendous leadership in
helping to ensure the continued strength of American businesses.
I’m honored for the invitation to be here and to share my thoughts with
each of you here today.
As all of you know,
just two weeks ago, the President took yet another step to secure the strength
of our nation’s economy.
By signing into law
one of the largest tax cuts in history, President Bush has helped provide more
than 136 million American taxpayers with substantial tax relief.
That means more money
in the pocketbooks of hardworking Americans, in the dividend checks of the
growing number of investors, and in the hands of small business owners to invest
in their futures.
My colleagues
throughout the Administration are also working hard to strengthen our economy
and improve the quality of life for all Americans.
We at the Department of Transportation are taking full advantage of the opportunity we share in this reauthorization year to re-shape the future of our transportation system, as we work to ensure that it continues to lead the world in innovation and economic growth.
I recently introduced
to Congress the President’s new surface transportation reauthorization
proposal – the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003, or
SAFETEA.
The President’s
proposal is the largest transportation investment in our nation’s history, and
for that I am proud. But our
proposal is much more than just a spending plan – it is a blueprint for
investment.
Our proposal is
driven by the need for results.
It will help save
thousands of lives each year by reducing the number of preventable injuries and
fatalities on our roadways.
It recognizes that
leaders at the state and local level – not in Washington – know best
which roads and bridges to build, and offers them the flexibility they need to
make the right transportation choices for their communities.
And, it provides real
funding for something that I know
is vital to you and to your businesses – the creation of an efficient and seamless network of
intermodal connectors that will deliver commercial goods faster than it did
yesterday, and faster still tomorrow.
The future health,
competitiveness, and economic strength of our freight and shipping systems
depend on such a network, and SAFETEA will help create it.
So, I look forward to
working with all of you to ensure its successful passage in the Congress as soon
as possible.
Now anyone picking up
a newspaper knows that some on Capitol Hill believe that, despite the
challenging economic times, we should impose a fuel tax increase on the American
people to pay for an even higher level of spending than the record amount
proposed by the President.
I also know, that
some special interests are urging the Congress to simply enact a one or two year
bill, with the hope of persuading the Administration to agree on a spending
increase later on.
Well, as all of you
know, I’ve spent my entire career as a champion for transportation investment.
But I want to be clear. President
Bush and I oppose the imposition of costly new fuel taxes on the American
people.
And as a former
Mayor, let me also say this: enacting anything less than a full six-year
reauthorization bill will greatly jeopardize the ability of our nation’s
mayors, governors, and local transportation leaders to make important long-term
investment decisions for their communities.
The Congress must
meet its responsibility of ensuring that states and localities receive a
dedicated, predictable stream of funding.
Turning away from
this responsibility with a short-term
spending bill using existing funding levels would not only jeopardize the
development of important local transportation projects, but would also bankrupt
the highway trust fund.
Our nation’s state
and local officials cannot afford this, and we should not accept it.
And so, I urge the Congress to pass the President’s six-year proposal
in its entirety this year.
The safety of those
Americans traveling on our roads and highways also requires immediate attention.
Accordingly, one of
the most important priorities of our proposal is a commitment to reduce
dramatically the number of highway-related fatalities and injuries.
Last year, motor vehicle crashes resulted in almost 3 million injuries and almost 43,000 fatalities.
The human costs to
the families of these victims are incalculable, but the economic costs are not.
Each year, these preventable crashes cost our nation an average of $230
billion. We can and must do more to
stem that tide of economic loss.
The best way to
reduce significantly these numbers is simple:
Americans must use their safety belts.
That is why our proposal would distribute substantial levels of funding
to states that either improve their overall safety belt usage rates, or are
willing to enact primary safety belt laws.
Moreover, our bill
will consolidate and enhance our many safety initiatives to create our
nation’s most comprehensive highway safety program in history.
But we face other challenges as well.
Earlier, I mentioned
the importance of our network of freight and shipping to the productivity of our
nation.
No one better
understands that than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and I’d like to commend
the Chamber on its recently released North American Port and Intermodal Systems
Study.
The study clearly
states that now, more than ever, the strength of America’s manufacturing
sector depends on an efficient and well-connected national transportation
network. And though we’re making progress, what we need is a
revolution.
Recent estimates
indicate that Import/Export Freight Tonnage could double by 2020, and Domestic
Freight Tonnage could increase by about 70 percent over that same period.
International trade
now comprises over 25 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and is expected
to rise to one-third in less than 20 years. The days when trade issues could be
ignored as irrelevant to overall U.S. wealth creation are long gone.
We need a revolution
that would make intermodal projects like California’s Alameda Corridor and
Alaska’s Port of Anchorage the norm, not the exception.
The first step is to
enact the reforms included in President Bush’s proposal, including:
·
Dedicating more resources for the critical and often neglected “last
mile” connecting the National Highway System to intermodal freight facilities,
particularly our ports;
·
Providing greater leverage of Federal dollars through innovative
financing;
·
Encouraging greater private sector investment through tax-exempt private
activity bonds for private intermodal freight facilities;
and
·
Improving the capacity of states to conduct more strategic freight
planning.
One intermodal
alternative is the development of a robust short sea shipping system that would
aid in the reduction of growing freight congestion on our nation’s rail and
highway systems, and lessen the damaging impact on our environment.
Short
sea shipping provides a practical, safe, and efficient means of transporting
freight. Also referred to as
coastwise or coastal shipping, it is not a single modal function, but rather a
function across all modes of transportation.
Our nation must also
do a better job of completing transportation projects on budget and on time.
Too often, projects that were
cutting edge in concept become “catch-up” projects after years of delay.
Once
enacted, our proposal will help state and local leaders to modernize
transportation infrastructure more quickly and efficiently in their communities.
Modernization,
however, requires more than improving the speed our system employs to build our
highways, bridges, and other infrastructure, it requires a transformation of the
system itself.
Despite today’s
advancements in the methods and techniques used to construct our infrastructure,
the industry has failed to keep pace with the public’s expectation of, and
need for, completion of highway modernization projects measured by months or a
short number of years, not decades or generations.
No level of federal
stewardship or funding alone will prevent the potential for a crisis of mobility
in the decades ahead.
To extract the
highest value from precious transportation dollars, we must also use technology
and innovation aggressively to transform the way that we build our nation’s
roads and bridges.
We at the Department
of Transportation will soon have more to say about this topic.
For now, I just want to remark that DOT will be making innovation in how
we build and maintain our roads, an important departmental focus in the months
and years ahead.
The need for
modernization and innovation does not end with surface transportation.
America’s economy also depends on the success of its world-class
aviation system.
Earlier this year, we
introduced the President’s aviation reauthorization proposal called FLIGHT
100, in honor of this year’s centennial anniversary of flight.
FLIGHT-100 would do
much of the same in our skies that SAFETEA would do on our roads.
It provides for innovative project financing, strengthens intermodal
connections, and most importantly, promotes the highest possible levels of
safety for all Americans.
As
you may know, I recently asked Congress to help improve the competitiveness of
our aviation system.
Our
nation must grant our airlines greater access to foreign capital markets by
raising the allowed level of foreign ownership for voting stock to 49 percent,
with effective control always remaining in U.S. hands. Let me tell you why.
I
believe this change would provide significant public and economic benefits by
granting airlines greater access and entry to the global capital market, and
encouraging more efficient, market-driven networks.
Finally I’d like
briefly to touch on intercity rail. For
too long, our nation has been unwilling to address the need for fundamental
change in this important system.
Fear of the unknown,
and an unwillingness to challenge the status quo have turned our system of
national intercity passenger rail into a muddled patchwork of unfilled promises.
To those opposing
change, I say this: the
romanticizing of our current system is itself a significant obstacle to saving
it.
That is why over the coming weeks the President will submit to the Congress a comprehensive overhaul of AMTRAK and of the tools we use to support intercity passenger rail.
The Bush
Administration is committed to a viable, national intercity passenger rail
system that helps support America’s mobility needs.
Let me close by thanking everyone for coming here today, and for the opportunity of working with you on all of these important issues in the days ahead. May God bless all of you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
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