Senator Reed Rises in Support of Bond-Reid Amendment

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to voice my strong support for the Bond-Reid amendment to ensure that we invest in our transportation infrastructure.

Time and again, in our daily lives and in the news we hear and see that our Nation's roads and transit systems are crowded. On our way to work or on our way to visit family, we spend countless hours stuck in traffic or waiting for a bus.

But this congestion is more than just a personal inconvenience. Indeed, we know from studies by the Texas Transportation Institute and others that traffic congestion costs our economy $67.5 billion every year. That's billions in lost productivity.
Sadly, the budget resolution before us fails to provide the resources needed to meet these demands. It even fails to meet the level of funding that the administration's own Department of Transportation believes are necessary if one reads the DoT's report on the conditions and performance of our Nation's highways and transit systems.

Fortunately, the bipartisan amendment offered by the Senate's leaders on transportation policy would ensure that we have the resources to maintain and modernize our roads, bridges, and transit systems.

By providing a total of $255 billion for highways and $56.5 billion for transit, this amendment makes sure we have the resources to repair aging bridges and improve transit service.

Last year, as the chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over our Nation's transit programs, we heard repeatedly from witnesses who represented transit systems of all sizes from all over the country about the success of TEA-21. When I asked why TEA-21 was successful, every witness had the same answer: resources. It was the resources that brought fast, environmentally sound transit to growing cities like Denver and helped transit attain the highest growth rate of any mode of transportation. This amendment will ensure that we continue this success.

In addition, during a time of economic uncertainty, this amendment means jobs and a great stimulus to our economy. Indeed, an estimated 47,000 well-paying jobs are created for each $1 billion we invest in transportation.

I want to thank my colleagues, Senators BOND, REID, SHELBY, and SARBANES, for their leadership on this amendment. I look forward to its passage and preservation in conference with the House.