Transportation
The issue of Transportation is important to our district and to my work in Congress.
The condition of our infrastructure is crucial to the safety of daily travelers and vital to our economic prosperity. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee I am committed to rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure in a fiscally responsible way, eliminating earmarks, consolidating and reforming programs while cutting down on the bureaucratic red tape that delays projects.
Legislative Action:
Voted for H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act
- As a Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee specifically the Highways and Transit Subcommittee that helped author this legislation, I am proud to report it follows through on this Congress’s pledge to fundamentally reform how Washington works. This bill is level funded over five years, contains no earmarks and accomplishes the following.
- Consolidates or eliminates nearly 70 federal programs
- Cuts red tape, expedites project delivery saving untold billions of dollars and reduces the regulatory burdens on businesses
- Provides long term stability and certainty to our state departments of transportation as well as some of the hardest hit sectors of our economy
- Expands domestic production of energy
- Allows states to set their transportation priorities: This bill does not cut funding for transportation enhancement programs but rather allows individual states to decide how they wish to spend their federal dollars
- Passed the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 3, 2012.
Voted to pass the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011
- On November 15, 2011, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 2838.
- A fiscally responsible reauthorization of the U.S. Coast Guard that authorizes funding for FY 2012.
- Includes programatic reforms and other improvements.
- Provides greater parity between the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard in terms of authorities and benefits for service members.
- Reforms Coast Guard administration to reduce inefficiencies and improve operations
Cosponsored H.R. 658, the FAA Air Transportation Modernizations and Safety Improvement Act and voted in support of the Conference Report of the legislation that passed on February 3, 2012:
- The bill saves $4 billion by streamlining and consolidating FAA programs and facilities, increasing the use of cost effective programs, modernizing our air traffic control system, and increasing the role of the private sector in facility operations.
- The previous Congress couldn’t pass a reauthorization bill, having languished under a long series continuing resolutions. This legislation is proof that the new House is getting the job done. It shows what Congress can accomplish when both chambers and both parties work together.
- Click here to learn more about my thoughts on this important vote.
Introduced H.R. 2089, the Technology Helps Revamp Evaluate and Expedite Designs Act of 2011, or Three-D Act
- Three-dimensional modeling improves highway safety by replicating the exact location of the highway in a model to analyze and adjust sight lines and design the highway to eliminate dangerous curves or obstructed views.
- It expedites environmental review by capturing critical environmental data (i.e. wetlands, endangered species and utilities in the model, for instantaneous consideration of alternatives earlier in the planning process).
- It significantly improves design accuracy and allows precise execution in construction through automated machine guidance. Using the 3-D computer program to guide earthmoving and paving equipment will help reduce time and costly errors.
- This was included in the final version of H.R. 7
Cosponsored H.R. 1585, the State Highway Flexibility Act
- This bill would reverse the current system by allowing more infrastructure dollars to be spent on roads rather than the Washington bureaucracy.
- It would enable states to avoid numerous costly federal mandates, thus allowing more money to be used on infrastructure construction and maintenance
- It also allows states to opt-out of sending gas and diesel tax monies to the Federal Trust Fund and the Mass Transit Account, and instead keep those revenues in-state.
Introduced H.R. 2357, the Fighting Fraud in Transportation Act of 2011
- There are over 5,000 trucking companies in the state of New Hampshire, comprising one out of every 16 jobs in the state. Over 90% of our communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods. Clearly this is an industry vital to our state but one that has been plagued with fraud.
- To combat this problem, I introduced H.R. 2357 which would increase the required amount for a surety bond from $10,000 to $100,000. A surety bond is a promise to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet its obligation. The lower the amount the less stringent the qualifications to receive the surety bond. Due to the low amount, last increased in 1978, a small number of individuals have defrauded the industry for years and this bill would correct the problem.
- It was included in the final version of H.R. 7.