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REMARKS
FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
CONFERENCE
OF MINORITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
32ND NATIONAL CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
July 11, 2003
Good
morning. On behalf of President
Bush and Vice President Cheney, welcome to Washington and welcome home.
Thank
you Administrator Dorn for the kind introduction. Jenna has done a wonderful job leading the Federal Transit
Administration with zest and enthusiasm and I am delighted to have her on the
U.S. Department of Transportation team.
It
is good to see my longtime transportation friends here today.
Bill
Millar and I have worked together, along with his organization, the American
Public Transportation Association for many years on public transit issues.
Chairperson
Kirk of COMTO's Board of Directors, Board Member Castillo, members of the
Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), let me add my
congratulations on a very successful 32nd annual conference.
Executive
Director and CEO, Julie Cunningham, has been a terrific manager at COMTO and has
done an outstanding job planning this week's conference.
Under her leadership, COMTO and the Department of Transportation have
enjoyed a long and very productive partnership and I look forward to continuing
our good work together.
I
know that being in Washington brings back many warm memories, as COMTO was
founded here in 1971 on the campus of Howard University. Reverend Jerry Moore and Harold Williams, two visionary
leaders, laid the groundwork for COMTO. Now,
more than thirty years later - that vision has fostered COMTO's growth to over
22,000 members and 28 chapters nationwide, along with a multitude of industry
and government partnerships.
Your
conference theme this year is a very timely one. Transportation - A National Priority speaks to my message
this morning. Passage of a full
six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill is a national priority!
One
reason for this is because doing so will greatly help the Department of
Transportation meet the challenge of dramatically reducing the number of
highway-related fatalities and injuries. Last
year alone, 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.
Right
now, the Bush Administration has pending before the Congress a bill that
includes the most comprehensive series of safety initiatives ever proposed.
The
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act - SAFETEA,
a $247 billion proposal, is the largest surface and public transportation
commitment in American history. It
builds on the successes of the landmark legislation, ISTEA, which I co-authored
during my days in Congress, and its successor, TEA-21.
The
best way to save lives on our roads is also the most simple:
Americans must wear their safety belts.
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.
SAFETEA
also recognizes that as transportation leaders at the state and local levels -
you know best which roads and bridges to build. It gives you the needed flexibility to make the right
transportation choices for your communities.
For
transit, SAFETEA provides a record $46 billion over 6 years:
*
$2.3 billion for the non-urbanized (rural) formula program, an 87% increase over
TEA-21.
*
$9.5 billion for the New Starts projects, an increase of 55% over TEA-21 levels.
*
$822 million for state and metropolitan planning, more than double the amount
provided under TEA-21, and an additional $30 million for a new Planning Capacity
program.
*
$1.3 billion in performance incentive awards to transit agencies that increase
ridership.
President
Bush and I believe this reauthorization proposal serves as a true blueprint for
investment in our future, supplying the funds and the framework for investments
needed to maintain and grow our vital transportation infrastructure.
And
most importantly, this proposal supports my personal commitment, and that of the
President, to dramatically increase highway safety while ensuring the efficient
movement of people and commerce that does so much to fuel the nation's economy.
But
all of this may be at risk if certain interests persuade Congress to take the
easy road and enact a one or two year bill.
These interest groups believe that 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.
Let
me be clear - President Bush and I oppose the imposition of costly new fuel
taxes on the American traveling public.
As
a former Mayor, I know that enacting anything less than a full six-year
reauthorization bill will greatly endanger the ability of our nation's mayors,
governors, and local transportation leaders to make important long-term
investment decisions for your communities.
Before
I close, I want to take a moment to applaud COMTOs efforts to ensure and promote
diversity in the transportation industry.
COMTO
and the Federal Transit Administration together have successfully developed the
"Interactive Disadvantaged Business Enterprise CD Project, " a
step-by-step CD that assists FTA contracting recipients in completing their goal
setting methodology application.
The
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program has been the Department of
Transportation's most important tool for promoting equal opportunity in federal
transportation contracting since it was first signed into law by President
Reagan in 1983.
Last
Thursday I announced a new program - the Transportation Equity Act Model or TEAM
- to aid the Department's DBE outreach efforts.
Entrepreneurship
is the path to prosperity for many Americans, and President Bush wants to create
an environment where entrepreneurs can flourish.
The TEAM project moves us in that direction by identifying contracting
opportunities for small businesses on large DOT-funded projects as well as other
DOT-related contracting opportunities.
Twelve
TEAMs across the nation will be working with small and disadvantaged businesses
to help increase the numbers of firms entering into transportation-related
federal contracts.
Clearly,
COMTO recognizes the vital importance of attracting the best and the brightest
to the transportation industry.
The
scholarships, the training and the leadership you pass on to future
transportation leaders are building a living legacy for your organization.
That
legacy, begun nearly 32 years ago, has opened doors of opportunity for so many
and inspires the next generations
of transportation innovators.
Congratulations
on three decades of extraordinary achievements and best wishes for continued
success in preparing the transportation leaders for tomorrow.
May
God bless each one of you, and may God continue to bless the United States of
America. Thank you very much.
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