U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. Rep. Don Young, Chairman

Contact:  Steve Hansen (Communications Director)  (202) 225-7749
    Justin Harclerode (Communications & Outreach Assistant)  (202) 226-8767

To:  National Desk/Transportation Reporter
January 31, 2001

Chairman Don Young Announces New Transportation Subcommittee Chairmen

        Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) today announced the new subcommittee Chairmen for the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee for the 107th Congress.

        Young was named as the new Chairman of the T&I Committee earlier this month after serving as Chairman of the Committee on Resources for the past six years.

        During the first caucus of the Committee’s Republican members on Wednesday, Young named the new subcommittee Chairmen and outlined the restructuring of the Committee. Named as subcommittee Chairmen were:


        “This Committee will have an extensive legislative agenda during the 107th Congress and our Subcommittee Chairmen will be in the forefront as we address these important issues,” Young said.  “All of these Chairmen have an extensive background on the Committee and specifically in the issues under their subcommittees’ jurisdiction.

        “We will focus on a very basic goal – improving the quality of life for all Americans by easing the congestion on our roads, improving our environment and making all modes of transportation safer and more convenient.

        “It’s my hope that we can address these issues in a cooperative and bipartisan basis.  Americans are tired of gridlock – both on our roads and in our political system.  We have the opportunity to accomplish great things for this nation and I look forward to working with Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and our Democratic colleagues in addressing these important issues.”

        Young said the new T&I Committee restructuring will include:

Subcommittee on Railroads

        Young said he is reestablishing the Subcommittee on Railroads.  During the 106th Congress, the legislative responsibility for railroads was combined with that of highway and mass transit programs.   Young said the Subcommittee on Railroads will have jurisdiction over all matters relating to freight railroads; passenger rail service, including Amtrak; high-speed rail systems; railroad labor; railroad safety; railroad retirement; railroad workers’ compensation; and railroad unemployment insurance.

Full Committee To Assume Oversight & Investigations

        Young said he is eliminating the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Emergency Management.  To accommodate establishment of the Subcommittee on Railroads, the committee’s oversight and investigation function will no longer exist as a freestanding subcommittee but will be assumed as a full committee activity.  This is similar to the structure of the House Committee on Resources under Young’s Chairmanship.

Subcommittee On Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management

        Young said he will transfer the legislative responsibility for federal emergency management activities (programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, that are under the Committee’s jurisdiction) from the former Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Emergency Management to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Transportation.  That Subcommittee will be renamed the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
        The new subcommittee will have jurisdiction over economic development for distressed urban and rural areas, including programs administered by the Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, The Denali Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority.
        The subcommittee will also have jurisdiction over the purchase, construction, repair, alteration, operation and maintenance of Federally owned or leased buildings controlled by the General Services Administration; matters relating to the Capitol Building and the Senate and House Office Buildings; construction, maintenance, and care of the buildings and grounds of the Botanic Gardens, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution; operations of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and the purchase of sites and construction of post offices, customhouses, Federal courthouses and government buildings within the District of Columbia.
        In addition, the subcommittee will have jurisdiction over the federal management of emergencies and natural disasters (FEMA).

Subcommittee On Highways & Transit

        Young said he will establish the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.   This subcommittee will combine the highway and mass transit functions of the former Subcommittee on Ground Transportation with functions relating to the transportation of hazardous materials and pipeline transportation, which are to be transferred from the former Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Transportation.
        Young said the subcommittee’s jurisdiction will include the Federal-Aid Highway program, highway safety and research, public transit programs, commercial motor carrier regulation and safety and transportation aspects of the Clean Air Act.
        In addition, the subcommittee will have jurisdiction over the transportation of hazardous materials and pipeline transportation (safety and economic regulation).

        Young said the responsibilities of the Subcommittee on Aviation, the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, and the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will not be changed.

Subcommittee On Aviation

        The Subcommittee on Aviation will have jurisdiction over all matters relating to civil aviation, including the airport improvement program, aviation safety, aviation security, aviation noise, economic regulation of airlines, international aviation relations of the United States, war risk insurance, labor relations involving airlines and their employees, and programs of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Subcommittee On Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation

        The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Coast Guard, including regulation of merchant vessel, fishing vessel, and recreational vessel safety; vessel navigation and related laws; rules and international arrangements to prevent collisions at sea; lifesaving service; and oil spill laws and associated financial responsibility requirements.
        The subcommittee will also have jurisdiction over all matters related to the Maritime Administration, including ports, foreign flag passenger ships, international maritime activities and intermodal transportation, except those matters related to the national security.
        In addition, the subcommittee will have jurisdiction over measures relating to the Federal Maritime Commission, including measures relating to the jurisdiction of common carriers by water.

Subcommittee On Water Resources & Environment

        The Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will have jurisdiction over civil works programs of the Army Corps of Engineers, including projects for flood control, navigation, water supply, hydroelectric power, environmental restoration, shoreline protection, and recreation; inland, coastal, and ocean water pollution control, including the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Ocean Dumping Act; wetlands protection and enhancement; Superfund hazardous substances program; Tennessee Valley Authority; Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; and certain “small watershed” projects of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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