Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4348) to provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a multiyear law reauthorizing such programs, and for other purposes:

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my opposition to the bill passed by this chamber last night, H.R. 4348, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II.

Each day that Congress fails to act on a long-term reauthorization of our nation's surface transportation programs is another day that our roads and bridges deteriorate. It's another day that our states and counties will be unable to plan and budget for projects to improve our communities and facilitate commerce. And it's another day that workers in the hard hit construction industry will have to wait for a chance to get back on the job.

It would have been a tremendous victory for the American people if the House had come together as the Senate did last month. They passed a two year transportation bill on a strong, bipartisan vote of 74 22. It isn't a perfect bill, but it is a step forward for strengthening our economy and getting people back to work.

However, the Majority in the House has blocked every attempt to have a clean, up or down vote on the Senate's bipartisan bill. Instead, they have chosen to pursue controversial, ideologically driven proposals. In fact, the bill this chamber passed yesterday has already drawn a veto threat from the White House for its inclusion of provisions to unnecessarily expedite the Keystone pipeline project. It would also undermine environmental protection procedures that allow our constituents the opportunity to weigh in on projects that impact their communities and quality of life.

These are not small policy changes. The Keystone XL pipeline is a huge project that could have significant consequences for years to come. It deserves rigorous and objective analysis to determine whether it is in fact in the best interest of our nation's future to approve and construct such a project.

Changing our environmental protection procedures for infrastructure projects requires the same sort of thoughtful debate and careful analysis. Infrastructure projects are long-term--they fundamentally change communities. We need to make sure that the impacts of these projects, and the views of local residents and businesses, are taken into account before taxpayer funds are committed.

I do support the provisions of H.R. 4348 that will allow for full utilization of funds in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and provide for additional resources to continue restoring the Gulf Coast. I believe that these are important issues for the House and Senate to consider during their Conference.

However, I am still disappointed that the House has failed to come together on legislation that has historically been truly bipartisan. I hope that Conferees will get to work expeditiously and come up with a product that can receive bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House.

We owe it to our states, communities, and the families that depend on paychecks in the construction industry to move this forward quickly.

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