REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION
Laborers’ International Union Annual Tri-Fund
Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JANUARY 28, 2002
2:00 PM
Good
morning. It is a pleasure to join
the brothers and sisters of the Laborers’ International Union of North America
for your annual Tri-Fund Conference, even if I can only do so via
satellite. And, believe me, you
cannot begin to imagine the contortions I went through to try to join you in
Hawaii.
For almost
a century, the Laborer’s have been at the forefront of our transportation
industries. Your 800,000 members
literally help to keep America moving.
In addition, your Tri-Funds provide outstanding examples of labor and
management working together to everyone’s benefit.
So, on
behalf of President Bush and Vice President Cheney and all of us here at the
Department of Transportation, I extend a heartfelt thanks to each of you for
your efforts on behalf of the American people.
I want to
offer a special hello to Terry O’Sullivan, your General President, and to
commend him for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to a quality
transportation system in America.
Hello also
to my friends from Local 270, and all of the other locals throughout the great
state of California. I counted on
your support when I was a member of the City Council and mayor in San Jose,
California, and again when the good folks of San Jose gave me the privilege of
representing them in the Congress, and I will count on your continued
encouragement in my current capacity as Secretary of Transportation.
Finally,
hello to Don Kaniewski, a great friend of mine whom you know as your very
capable Director of the Legislative and Political Department. Don and I have worked together on a
number of transportation issues over the years. Don, I look forward to continuing to
work with you.
Today,
America’s transportation sector faces a period of extraordinary challenge. As all of you know, on September
11th, a determined and remorseless enemy attacked one of America’s
most cherished freedoms, the freedom of movement.
The
horrific events of that day, as well as the rebuilding and recovery in the weeks
and months that followed, have reaffirmed the critical importance of our
Nation’s transportation system, both to the security of every American, and to
our economic well-being.
Time and time again, I have seen
transportation serve as an engine for building prosperity, strengthening the
competitiveness of our businesses and improving the quality of our lives.
Moreover, investing now in our
transportation infrastructure can help kick start America’s economy. For every billion dollars invested by
the federal government in maintaining and improving our transportation systems,
when taken together with the corresponding state and local expenditures, it
creates and supports an estimated 47,500 good-paying jobs.
Simply put,
we cannot afford to take our transportation systems for granted. It is imperative that labor and business
and government all work hand-in-hand to achieve necessary improvements in our
transportation infrastructure.
The
Laborers’ International Union played a crucial part in the passage of the two
surface transportation acts of the last decade, the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, and its predecessor, the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, commonly called ISTEA.
Don
Kaniewski’s tireless work on these two landmark bills helped provide the
momentum needed to make them a reality, creating thousands of additional jobs
for laborers.
Now, as we
begin the process of developing new surface transportation legislation, we have
a firm foundation on which to build.
ISTEA and TEA-21 authorized record levels of investment in our
transportation infrastructure, and the funding mechanisms set up in TEA-21 give
state and local officials greater confidence regarding federal funding.
TEA-21 also
includes a funding provision known as Revenue Aligned Budget Authority – or RABA – which annually adjusts actual
highway spending up or down depending on tax receipts. In the last three years, the RABA
mechanism has provided over $9 billion in additional highway spending.
Unfortunately, because of the
slowdown in the economy, combined with the overly optimistic revenue estimates
in past years, the RABA calculation for fiscal year 2003 is negative.
However,
actual federal spending on highway construction in FY2003 will still be much
higher than it was in FY98, the first year of TEA-21, and will drop only
slightly from its all-time high last year.
I want to
stress that this RABA adjustment does not result from a policy interpretation
– it is a simple mathematical
calculation based on the law, which on whole has resulted in significant
additional construction. Still, as
we begin to discuss the reauthorization of TEA-21, we ought to look at RABA’s
design to determine if we can smooth out these funding swings over time.
Just as
importantly as the overall level of funding, the funding flexibility first
included in ISTEA, and then continued in TEA-21, enables state and local
decision-makers to better tailor their transportation choices to meet the unique
needs of their local communities.
TEA-21
funding has allowed all of us to make needed safety improvements. Our
commitment – day in and day
out – is to do all we can to
raise the bar on safety. Over the
years, we have enjoyed considerable success, but we can do even better. None of us should consider it
acceptable that work zone related crashes injure more than 40,000 people every
year.
TEA-21 also
directed us to streamline environmental reviews, so we can move projects more
quickly from planning to construction without jeopardizing our quality of
life. As a result, the average time
to process environmental documents for major projects has been cut by almost a
year, and we are well positioned for significant future progress.
In short,
the programmatic and financial initiatives of these two historic surface
transportation acts provide a solid and balanced structure around which we can
shape this new reauthorization legislation.
However,
while we should build upon the best of ISTEA and TEA-21, we have an opportunity
– indeed, an obligation
– to do even better.
The
Laborers’ efforts in cooperation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
Associated General Contractors, and the American Road and Transportation
Builders Association play a vital role in promoting investment in transportation
infrastructure.
As we move
forward together to develop reauthorization legislation that will best serve the
American people, we ought to adhere to certain core principles and values.
We must
continue to assure adequate and predictable funding for investment in the
Nation’s surface transportation system, and we must preserve funding flexibility
to allow the broadest application of funds to the transportation solutions
identified as the best in our local communities.
Secondly,
we must expand and improve the programs of innovative financing, in order to
encourage private sector investment in the transportation system, and look for
other inventive means to augment existing revenue streams.
With the
increased investment in transportation infrastructure, we must continually look
for ways we can strengthen our oversight of financial management and program
integrity. If we pay for a 10-sack
concrete job, we should get a 10-sack concrete job – and not a 7-sack job.
We must
also emphasize the security of the Nation’s transportation system, providing the
means and the mechanisms to perform risk assessment and analysis, incident
identification, response, and when necessary, evacuation.
Finally,
and perhaps most importantly, we must continue to focus on making substantial
improvements in the safety of the system,
particularly when it comes to enhancing work zone safety.
As I said a
moment ago, America’s transportation sector faces a period of extraordinary
challenge. But, it is also a moment
of great opportunity, a moment we must not let pass us by.
We cannot
rely upon business as usual. I know
that we can rise to the transportation challenges facing our great Nation, but
only if we recognize that each of us has a vested interest in working together
to confront them.
We at the
Department of Transportation are committed to working with you – partnering with you – to devise workable transportation
solutions that continue to connect the American people to a vibrant economy and
an improved quality of life.
I am
confident that with the dedication, commitment, and professionalism of the
Laborers’ International Union of North America, and the entire transportation
community, we have the skills and the vision that America will need to continue
strengthening our Nation’s transportation system.
Thank you
very much, and God bless America.
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