On the Introduction of the "Flexibility Incentive Grant Pilot Program"
Floor Speech
ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ``FLEXIBILITY INCENTIVE GRANT PILOT PROGRAM''
* Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce an important bill that anticipates and addresses our communities' immediate and future transportation needs.
* Today I am introducing the Flexibility Incentive Grant Pilot Program, or as I call it--the FIG program.
* This legislation creates a $250 million annual grant program that provides a two-prong approach to growing our national transit program while rewarding states and localities that are making an investment in their transit infrastructure.
* Specifically, this legislation will provide incentives to encourage States and counties to establish new sources of revenue for transit projects and services. Such sources may include the dedication of new State motor fuels taxes, sales taxes, interest on existing highway funds, motor vehicle excise taxes, tolls, or other sources of funding.
* Furthermore, this legislation rewards those States that currently invest in transit by making them eligible to receive ``bonus'' payments by the Secretary of Transportation so that they can continue to invest in their transportation infrastructure.
* I look at this as a federal transportation tax return for those states and localities that invest in their transportation infrastructure.
* Transportation is about partnerships--and funding our infrastructure requires a strong commitment between federal, State and local governments. We need to grow our transit system in order to meet our growing population and infrastructure demands that our states and localities are experiencing.
* Fortunately, some States are already making a substantial investment in their transportation infrastructure. For example, in my home state of California, voters last November approved $19.9 billion in transportation bonds to fund a variety of transportation projects and initiatives.
* At the local level, citizens are willing to tax themselves to pay for much need transportation improvements. For example, in my district of Sacramento, a recent survey revealed that 74 percent of Sacramento County residents would support a ballot tax measure for transit and roads. Our citizens understand the need for more transportation funds and are proving this as a priority at the ballot box.
* The federal government must play a key leadership role in encouraging this type of initiative.
* Why is this so important?
* Last week, the American Public Transportation Association announced that Americans took a record 10.1 billion trips on local public transportation in 2006.
* Over the last decade, public transportation's growth rate outpaced population growth and the growth rate of vehicle miles traveled on our Nation's highways.
* There is great demand on our national transit infrastructure.
* Since 1995 public transit use has increased by 30 percent, which is double the population growth in our country, 12 percent, during that same time period.
* Despite record levels of federal investment and the display of local jurisdictions to tax themselves for the purposes of increasing the level and quality of public transportation services, we have to make sure that State funding, across our country, keeps pace.
* State Legislatures are facing huge deficits and some States have little choice but to freeze or cut funding for many important programs, including transit services.
* My legislation is designed to encourage States and counties to think twice before they cut transit funding by providing ``bonus'' Federal transportation dollars to those States that increase public transportation funding or take steps to increase funding.
* As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, my colleagues and I will be looking for new and innovative ways to fund our transportation programs in the coming years.
* The Flexibility Incentive Grant Pilot Program is a good place to start this conversation. I ask that my colleagues support my legislation.
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