REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE
NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SUMMIT WITH SCAG AND REP. MILLENDER-MCDONALD
LONG BEACH,
CALIFORNIA
SEPTEMBER 9,
2002
Thank you Congresswoman
Millender-McDonald, for that very gracious introduction. It’s great to be back in
California.
Congresswoman
Millender-McDonald, state and local officials, and distinguished guests, I am
indeed honored to attend this summit and join my fellow Californians to talk
about a subject that is near and dear to me – transportation.
Let me add that I appreciate
this chance to see so many familiar faces again. It seems like just last week we were all
here to celebrate the historic opening of the Alameda Corridor. I’ve had the opportunity to work with
many of you in the past, and look forward to working with all of you in the
future.
As I look out into the
audience, I see leaders that share a strong commitment to improve, not only
California’s transportation infrastructure, but the entire nation’s as
well.
All of us understand the
nexus between continued investment in infrastructure and our nation’s economic
prosperity. And we agree that
transportation is one of the engines that drives economic growth.
Nowhere do we understand the
transportation challenges ahead of us better than here in Los Angeles.
This great state is home to
three of the four largest ports in our country, as well as two of the nation’s
seven largest airports. There is no
question that good transportation is vital to California’s economic prosperity
-- and, therefore, that good transportation in California is vital to our
nation’s economic prosperity.
In the last ten years, both
the Los Angeles and San Francisco Airports have seen phenomenal growth in the
number of passengers relying on their systems.
And that phenomenal growth
is also happening at California’s ports.
The volume of cargo moving
through U.S. ports, and across our surface transportation system, is projected
to double by 2020 – everything from sneakers and
electronics, to cars and agricultural goods.
Goods movement depends upon
efficient transportation systems that work well together --
from seaports to rail and airports and to roads.
Like so many places in our
nation’s transportation system, California’s communities are impacted by the
growing gap between capacity and demand for transportation infrastructure.
Just ask the commuter stuck
in rush hour traffic or the traveler trapped on a tarmac.
From Los Angeles, where it
takes an average of 20 minutes to negotiate the interchange of interstates 10
and 405, to the Washington, DC area, where many highways become "parking lots"
at rush hour,
Americans are spending more
and more time trapped in their cars.
Those traveling at peak times in Los
Angeles burn more fuel than anywhere else, 204 gallons per person, per year, due
to congestion. But
there are solutions.
This great metropolis has
steadily grown for more than a century, with no end in sight.
Millions of people already
make this region their home and most projections estimate the population will
grow by another 6 million over the next twenty years.
Transportation is key to the
productivity, and therefore the success, of virtually every business here, and
throughout America.
Congestion and delay in
transportation are not just inconvenient and aggravating, but they are also a
tax that burdens every business, every community, and every individual. Together, we must find creative ways to
lighten that load.
One such solution to
congestion opened right here in California in April and I had the distinct
pleasure of attending.
I’m talking about the grand
opening of the Alameda Corridor. It
is an excellent example of how partnerships equal success.
After more than twenty years
in the making, the Alameda Corridor will enhance American trade with our
partners in the Pacific Rim and act as a catalyst for the regional and national
economies well into the future.
By eliminating conflicts
among freight trains, passenger trains, and street traffic in this heavily
traveled area, the Alameda Corridor also improves safety, eases delays, and
reduces air pollution from idling cars and trucks all at once –
a win-win-win for shippers, commuters, and the people of Southern
California.
President Bush has asked me
to focus on one challenge in particular, and that is to find ways to close the
gap between the demand for transportation services, and the capacity of our
infrastructure to meet that demand.
More projects like the Alameda Corridor will help to bridge that
gap.
It is a challenge I welcome,
and one that I began working on as Chair of the Surface Transportation
Subcommittee with the creation of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991, or ISTEA.
Through that legislation,
and the subsequent Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or
TEA-21, in 1998, more funding has been provided to meet these problems.
We have made progress, but
there is still a great deal of work to do.
Here in the United States,
we have built an extensive transportation system based on the strength of
individual modes: air,
highway, marine and rail. Each mode
has its own culture and constituencies.
Most state transportation
organizations, and even the US DOT, remain organized along modal lines.
Our job is to shift this
focus.
We must face the challenge
of blending these separate constituencies into a single national intermodal
transportation system -- one which integrates the
individual modes into a safe and seamless network of transportation solutions,
extending the capacity of our infrastructure by easing the connections between
modes, and doing so in a manner that is at once customer-focused, economically
efficient, equitable, and environmentally sound.
TEA-21 continued ISTEA’s
focus on increasing intermodal cooperation and efficiency.
TEA-21 also revolutionized
transportation funding and authorized record levels of investment for surface
transportation.
Looking to the not-too-distant future, the Bush
Administration is in the process of developing the successor to TEA-21.
While I expect key elements of the Administration’s
reauthorization proposal will seek to preserve and build upon the reforms of
TEA-21, we have an opportunity to do more. We welcome active
involvement by all the stakeholders in this process, including all of you.
We have a new web page to take public comments
electronically at http://www.dot.gov/ and what
is noteworthy is that you can view everyone else’s comments too.
We will be working with OMB during the fall and hope to
present a final product to Congress in late January as the session begins.
To
assist California in responding to its own transportation challenges, the
President’s 2002 budget calls for a $5 billion investment for transportation in
California.
I
know that together, we can rise to the transportation challenges facing
California and our nation. Everyone
is going to have to come to the table committed to solving the problem.
We
all must own a piece of the problem
-- and I know we all
have a piece of the solution.
We need to consider a variety of options and then make some tough
decisions on how we ought to proceed.
President
Bush, Vice President Cheney, and I welcome your ideas on ways to improve the
economic infrastructure in California.
We
look forward to continuing to work with the leaders of California to ensure that
our transportation system will support a strong economy, not only in the Golden
State, but throughout this great nation.
Thank
you very much.
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