REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE
NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION
60TH
ANNIVERSARY LUNCH ,THE “ROAD GANG”
CHANNEL INN
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
NOV. 7, 2002
NOON
Thank you and good
afternoon.
I recall speaking
to the Road Gang a few years ago when I was at Lockheed-Martin. It is truly an honor to appear before
you once again – this time as
a public servant.
I have worked with many of you on transportation-related
issues over the years, and I can attest that, in challenging times such as
these, America is truly fortunate to have groups like the Road Gang in the
forefront of our discussions. Thank
you ladies and gentlemen for joining us.
I want to salute the Road Gang on its 60th
anniversary and thank you for hosting today’s event.
If you wondered whether it took a little longer to get to
your annual meeting this year, it actually did.
DOT estimates the average motorist in the D.C. metropolitan
area, spends an equivalent of 2 work weeks, per year, stuck in traffic.
I don’t think I need to convince a group that has been around
some 60 years that roadway expansion isn’t a wonder drug to cure traffic
jam. It sure does make a very
positive difference, but as we know, the solution to congestion is really a
diverse set of options, and I'll cover that in a moment.
Today, I want to speak with you about environmental stewardship and streamlining, congestion, and reauthorization – all vital transportation issues and all issues we must focus on if we are to achieve our goal of designing a world-class transportation system.
A little over a month ago, President Bush issued an executive
order that speeds up decision making on vital airport, highway, transit and
intermodal transportation projects, while safeguarding the environment.
The order calls for the creation of an executive-level
Federal task force, which I will chair, that will be used to expedite the
priority projects, and also improve procedures that apply to all
projects.
It also calls for improved environmental stewardship as well
as process streamlining. We in
transportation have made great strides in wetlands protection, ecosystem
preservation, and enhancing historic resources, but we need to keep improving
our environment.
This executive order is great news for all of our
stakeholders because it means environmentally sound projects should no longer be
held up unnecessarily by inefficient review procedures.
We will still honor the important concerns of the
environment, but we will address those concerns more efficiently.
Often in the past, as many of you already know, many
transportation projects became mired for too long because they were caught up in
the complex web of clearances required by Federal and state law.
On average, highway projects sit four and a half years in
review, and airport runway proposals stay in the review process for three
years. This initiative
gives us a chance to improve this process, and we will take advantage of this
opportunity.
Last week, I announced seven transportation projects around
the country that will receive accelerated environmental review under this new
executive order.
In addition, I have invited governors, metropolitan planning
organizations (MPO), and airport authorities to nominate their own
projects. I would encourage you to
work with them in identifying additional projects worthy for the task force to
consider.
Each nominated project will be included in a project review
register. We will then select
additional priority projects from that register.
For those governors, MPO’s and airports who haven’t submitted
a project as of yet, you still have about a week to do so. However, all projects are due by
November 12th. And we
will be announcing the second wave of executive order priority projects in early
December.
Mary Peters and I are very excited about this initiative and
will be working closely with state DOTs, officials from the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation and the Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Defense,
and Commerce, to implement this order.
It is my hope that this initiative will also help to ease
congestion, reduce pollution and keep us moving in the right
direction.
The American way of life and the American worker rely on
public transportation. Very few
things have as great an impact on our economic development, growth patterns, and
quality of life as transportation.
Many communities across America are overwhelmed by the rapid
growth that has taken place since the 1990s. Americans are spending more hours than
ever in their cars, stuck in traffic.
We all know about congestion in places like Los Angeles, and
here in Washington, DC, but even places like Milwaukee, WI, Raleigh, NC, and
Arco, Idaho, are now dealing with traffic jams.
Congestion and bottlenecks hurt air quality, slow commerce,
increase energy consumption and threaten our quality of life. They waste significant time, money and
productivity.
Traffic congestion now costs motorists in our Nation’s top
urban areas about $68 billion a year in wasted time and fuel.
And it’s a growing threat to our Nation’s economy. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
has said it is one of the biggest problems facing our economy today.
Clearly, the time has come for solutions. And those solutions must come as part of
a comprehensive approach to congestion relief that involves making needed
improvements to all modes of transportation.
Strategic expansion of our transportation system capacity is
necessary in certain instances to address our existing and growing mobility
needs, but we must consider other options, including technology, inter-modal and
multi-modal solutions.
We need to apply technology to improve operations, to
maintain the infrastructure and to inform travelers of dangerous conditions and
alternative routes.
We’re going to hear a lot more, not less, about congestion
from around the country. And, the
time is ripe for the road and transit advocates to incorporate land-use
consideration into their transportation planning process.
Obviously, the key question that is on everyone’s mind is
funding. Figuring out how to
finance new transportation infrastructure will take time and creative thinking
on the part of many public and private sector players.
Once again, we have
a great opportunity before us to address our Nation’s growing transportation
needs.
In the past,
TEA-21, and it's predecessor, ISTEA, which I had the privilege of
authoring, has given States and communities across America additional tools and
opportunities to enhance the environment and quality of life for their
residents.
It continued, and increased, funding for several important
programs, and broadened eligibility for others.
TEA-21 has given States more than $1.4 billion in
Transportation Enhancement funds to implement community-focused, non-motorized
activities that enhance transportation.
And another $8 billion from The Congestion Mitigation and Air
Quality Improvement Program was provided to support traffic flow projects,
cleaner fuels, improved transit services, and bicycle and pedestrian programs
that reduce congestion and emissions and improve the quality of life.
TEA-21 has been the guide in the past, and the upcoming
reauthorization bill will guide Federal investment in transportation
infrastructure over the next several years.
I’m excited about
that because it gives us the chance to build on the previous successes that we
brought about in ISTEA and then again in TEA-21.
That is why we need your help as we begin the process of
reauthorizing TEA-21.
The industries you represent are the engines that drive this
economy.
I believe it is very important that we hear every voice since
we are talking about writing a law that will stand for another six years.
As I stated before, we want to build on the successes of
TEA-21 and ISTEA and, of course, add a new, solid layer of security for surface
transportation.
We have been seeking your input on our reauthorization
proposal and have incorporated many of your suggestions. Our proposal will be introduced early in
the next legislative session.
But as you know, the legislative battle then begins
anew. As that process evolves, I
want to urge you to continue to give us your input.
I encourage you and your members to visit our website at www.dot.gov and provide your input directly to me and
the Department. You may also review
comments that others have provided.
We’ve had more than 1,100 submissions so far, and that’s
great considering this is the first time DOT has done something like this
on-line. It’s also a handy way to
keep track of comments written by other stakeholders and a way to reach
individuals who are not necessarily members of the organizations we typically
address.
I have asked our DOT team to ensure active participation by
our state and local partners, in creating this reauthorization proposal.
We believe we have assembled a great team here at DOT and we
are putting together a proposal that will enable us to make the kind of progress
needed that will truly make ours the best transportation system in the
world.
So, thank you very, very, much for being our partners in achieving this goal. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today and look forward to working with you in the future. God bless you, and God bless America.
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