Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

North Dakota is the fastest growing state in the nation. To maintain the high quality of life we expect in our state, I am working to ensure that we invest in transportation infrastructure and improvements to move people and products safely and efficiently in our communities. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I continue to work to improve and expand roads, bridges, airports and rail systems in North Dakota. Last spring, I hosted the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary in North Dakota to show him firsthand our state's growth and to build federal support for new transportation infrastructure in our state.

Passing the Highway Bill MAP-21

In 2012, as a member of the conference committee for the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) highway bill, I worked to pass into law a comprehensive transportation bill that provided states with funding through Fiscal Year 2014, to provide greater long-term certainty to plan for construction projects. This legislation, which was fully paid for and did not add to the debt or deficit, provided record funding for North Dakota when combined with Emergency Road Funding. Combined with $317 million in Emergency Road Funding Congress passed in December 2011, North Dakota received more than $1 billion over three years to address highway construction needs statewide, flood recovery efforts and infrastructure projects in Western North Dakota. The bill also streamlined the environmental review process to enable our state to move forward more efficiently to address our infrastructure needs. I continue working to pass a new long term highway bill to ensure we have safe roads and infrastructure to grow our economy.
Railroad Safety and Infrastructure

Keeping our communities along rail lines safe is one of our highest priorities. To improve rail safety and reduce the risk of accidents, I have been working with industry and government officials at all levels, including the Federal Railroad Administration, DOT, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to push for the speedy and effective implementation of policies needed to make transporting oil and gas by rail safer. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked on provisions to increase inspectors and track inspections, to make sure products are shipped in the right containers, to implement positive train control (PTC) technology, enhanced emergency response training and to issue guidelines for safer tanker car construction. These measures will help to prevent accidents in the first place, and to mitigate their impact when they do occur.

Airport Investments

North Dakota airports are serving a record number of passengers each year. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I secure funding for airport grant programs that help to renovate and construct runways, terminals, aprons, and other airport infrastructure at airports across North Dakota, including for the new terminal at Minot International Airport. To build federal support for our airports, I hosted the head of Federal Aviation Administration in North Dakota to show him firsthand our growth and the importance of building up our infrastructure. I continue working with state and local airport officials to attract new carriers and flights and to plan for the future of our airports, including building a new airport in Dickinson.

Driver Privacy Act

In North Dakota, we have a state law that makes it clear that the owner of a vehicle also owns any data collected by a vehicle's Event Data Recorder (EDR), or the "blackbox" that can continuously collect at least 45 pieces of information about a vehicle's operation. In order to protect drivers across the United States, I introduced the Driver Privacy Act with Senator Amy Klobuchar. This bipartisan legislation guards a driver's personal privacy by making it clear that the owner of the vehicle is also the owner of information collected by an EDR. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 96 percent of 2013 car models are currently equipped with an EDR. While EDRs can serve a useful function by helping to make cars and streets safer, access to the data should be treated as personal except under very specific circumstances. Our bill makes clear what those circumstances are.

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