Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Chairman, as a Member of Congress for the brand new 10th Congressional District in Washington State, I have the privilege to represent Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which is the largest joint operating base in America.

In the vicinity of Joint Base Lewis-McChord is Interstate 5, which is the most heavily traveled north-south freight corridor in our State. Nearly 80 percent of the traffic to and from JBLM relies on that interstate freeway.

Local travelers in neighboring cities have absolutely no other option except to use I-5 as an arterial, and when incidents occur, trust me, it can take hours to recover.

Around the country, military installations like JBLM are still adapting to base realignment and short-term growth caused by troops passing through before being deployed. Installation growth has had a significant effect on regional transportation, particularly when an installation is located in or near an urban area.

Even acknowledging the potential for drawdowns on military bases, those reductions would not nearly come close to alleviating the problem--not nearly.

Surrounding roads play an important role in preserving military readiness. Our Armed Forces need to instantly deploy, and we need functional roads in order to do that. If military personnel are caught in a jam and if nobody moves, efficiency goes out the window.

The domino effect of delays due to congestion, therefore, literally impairs our national security. This leaves not only military activities on base stranded, but also commerce in the congested area, and when we don't have a reliable roadway, economic activity halts. Goods don't move, and companies can't make money.

It is a cascading inaction, which affects our productivity and balance sheets, and it puts a strain on businessowners.

To be clear, the military is not to blame for this. Bases have come up with innovative approaches to ease the pain, but the problem remains severe and unavoidable without more investment. It is a Band-Aid over a wound that needs stitches.

The only existing DOD program that provides funding for public highway improvements is the Defense Access Roads Program. However, the DAR Program is limited by outdated and restrictive eligibility criteria and was designed when bases were only expected to be located in relatively undeveloped areas, which is clearly no longer the case.

DAR needs to be replaced with a separate DOD program to fund the transit services necessary to meet military needs.

I know being stuck in traffic is not something unknown to most Americans. We are all too familiar with the horrible feeling of approaching an unexpected slow crawl on the road, but when this affects our military's ability to get to base, to do the job, and to be ready for anything, that is when we can't just sit and wait for it to get better. We can and should do more.

Mr. Chairman, I plan to withdraw my amendment, but I will soon introduce a bill that embodies its concept, entitled the ``COMMUTE Act,'' and it will address these issues.

I hope, beyond hope, that I can look forward to working with the members and my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee on this plan to meet this very important need.

Mr. SMITH of Washington. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HECK of Washington. I yield to the gentleman.

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Mr. HECK of Washington. Thank you, sir.

As is characteristic to both of you, thank you for your graciousness and for your positive remarks.

Mr. Chairman, let me just conclude by saying that there are some estimates that the Interstate 5 corridor around Joint Base Lewis-McChord--remember, I-5 extends from Canada to Tijuana--is the most congested chokepoint.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my amendment.

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