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FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE -- HON. DON YOUNG (Extensions of Remarks - July 29,
2002)
[Page: E1411] GPO's PDF
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HON. DON YOUNG
OF ALASKA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, July 26, 2002
- Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, The House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, which I chair, is conducting a series of fact finding hearings as
we prepare to reauthorize the Nation's highway and mass transit programs next
year.
- Surface transportation and
the immense infrastructure that supports our Nation's transportation system extends to every
corner of this country and every Member's district. That is why we are now
examining the effectiveness and funding needs of existing programs, as well as
the need for any new direction that the infrastructure of our country may need
into the future.
- I have said many times that I am concerned about the state of the Nation's
infrastructure. This concern is shared by many members of my
committee.
- The hearings underway in the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee are serving to highlight the need for a modern, effective transportation infrastructure. Our
economic health depends upon our roadways and transportation infrastructure. To
ignore the physical state of these systems is to invite disruption that could
have enormous economic consequences to this country.
[Page: E1412] GPO's PDF
- While we examine our highway programs, we will also review mass transit
programs and other programs to address and avoid congestion as well as new
technology that might enable us to become more efficient and to improve the
transport of people and goods.
- During the process of reviewing the infrastructure needs of the Nation and
the role of highway and mass transit programs, it is my intention to invite
comments on the future benefits and needs for the hydrogen option in our transportation system.
- We may be years away from actually employing fleets of, vehicles fueled by
hydrogen but we owe it to ourselves to determine how this important new fuel
source can be integrated along our transportation infrastructure. Just
think of the different dynamic we would face in the Middle East if our transportation system were equipped
with hydrogen vehicles and refueling stations based upon hydrogen.
- Nearly fifty years ago, during the Presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, the
Nation embarked upon the construction of the federal interstate highway
system. Today, after thousands of miles of highways have been constructed and
billions of dollars expended, we have an interstate highway system that is the
envy of the world.
- We have a transportation
network, five decades in the making, that is the lifeline upon which commerce
flows. That system required enormous and sustained federal support as well as
cooperation with state and local governments and agencies and the ideas,
innovation and hard work of hundreds of thousands of people from the private
sector.
- Many of the improvements we take for granted today took decades to design,
improve and construct. I believe it is time to begin work on an effort that
may become just as important as that of President Eisenhower, an effort to use
hydrogen as a key component of our transportation base. I believe it is
time for us to realize that our future surface transportation system may well be
fueled using hydrogen, so we must begin the planning and thinking now.
- We are at the question stage of this process. While I am not saying we are
ready to set a final course of action to install hydrogen fuel infrastructure,
I do believe that hydrogen can become the key part of the nation's future
transportation system. As
Chairman of the Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee, I believe that we should undertake a process, in
the reauthorization of our
highway programs, to study the feasibility of hydrogen infrastructure in the
future.
- This process will allow us to question timing and to ask if such a
transformation is feasible, is real, is viable, is cost efficient and is in
the Nation's best interest. Because our bill will authorize the highway
program for at least six years, it is important that we not miss this window
of opportunity to ask these questions and possibly, to initiate actions that
will expedite any transformation process.
- The automobile industry and President Bush have announced an initiative
known as Freedom CAR, an industry and government research and development
program to develop fuel cell vehicles as well as needed R&D relating to
the hydrogen fuel that will power these vehicles.
- We already know a great deal about fuel cells and we already know a great
deal about the production of hydrogen. But, we clearly do not know enough. The
effort of the private industry and the Administration to develop these sources
of fuel can be assisted by the review and development of a meaningful
infrastructure system to refuel these vehicles.
- Industry and government researchers alike have asserted that a focused
infrastructure development program likely will garner the confidence needed to
produce the vehicles. As we develop the confidence to proceed it also will be
necessary to commit to the production of a sufficient number of vehicles for
widespread demonstration. Thereafter we would be positioned to move forward
towards the manufacture of thousands and then millions of such vehicles.
- During each of these stages, a meaningful and effective refueling hydrogen
infrastructure will be needed. We should avoid a chicken and egg problem: What
comes first the vehicle or the fueling infrastructure? Will the vehicles be
produced if the infrastructure is not readily available? Will the
infrastructure be made available if the vehicles are not forthcoming?
- The infrastructure should be developed in parallel with the vehicles.
Consumers are unlikely to buy fuel cell vehicles over traditional vehicles
unless the hydrogen fuel is available. We may never see the mass production of
fuel cell vehicles, even after they are technically proven, unless the fueling
infrastructure is in place.
- We are fighting a war on terrorism that is precipitated, in part, by our
country's dependence upon foreign supplies of crude oil. The lives of our
military personnel are at risk every day. As long as we continue dependence
upon foreign sources of oil we will face war and an enormous human and
economic toll that is placed upon our society and economy. If we do nothing,
our dependency on foreign oil is projected to grow from fifty percent today to
more than 60 percent by 2020. That dependency has grown already from 35
percent in the mid-1970's when we first confronted war over oil in the Middle
East.
- Congress is facing a question that will partially ease the dependence on
foreign oil sources as it conferences the energy bill. In the House, we say we
should allow exploration and development of a fringe area of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge in my state. I passionately believe that this is
vital right now. The answer to oil dependency is a sensible U.S. domestic oil
production in ANWR, as well as looking for other solutions that will ease the
problem in years to come.
- We need to develop all possible sources of energy to insure that our
country has a diversity of energy sources available. Hydrogen, the most
abundant element in the universe is a source of energy that should be
developed for application in the long term. It can be derived from gasoline,
natural gas, methanol, renewables, even water. Someday, like electricity
today, hydrogen could become a type of energy used in daily transportation and as a source of fuel
for electricity generation to power homes, business and industry.
- Now is the time to begin a serious investigation that looks beyond a
successful research and development program. We need to consider the need to
begin our public and private efforts now to create an infrastructure to serve
and fuel a transportation system
based in part upon fuel cell vehicles and the need for hydrogen.
- I do not know if there will be success or failure of these efforts to
perfect the technology but I think it wise to consider those actions we can
take. Our design should be to encourage and maintain momentum towards adoption
of a new form of transportation
based not entirely upon fossil fuels from other lands. We need to begin a
process to determine government's proper role in this effort that may be as
technically challenging as the Apollo program and as important as the
Interstate Highway System.
- Regardless of the energy source that propels our vehicles, now or in the
future, we must also ensure that it pays its fair share to the Highway Trust
Fund, if we are to maintain a user fee based system to invest in our transportation infrastructure.