Transportation Equity Act; A Legacy for Useres--Motion to Proceed

TRANSPORTATION EQUITY ACT; A LEGACY FOR USERS--MOTION TO PROCEED -- (Senate - April 26, 2005)

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I also rise today to speak in support of moving forward with debate on reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. As many of my colleagues know, enactment of a long-term, robust Transportation bill is long overdue. I credit the distinguished chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Inhofe from Oklahoma, and the ranking member, Senator Jeffords, for their good work in bringing this to the floor.

It is important work that we are about to undertake. We are in the sixth extension of the current bill. We have another construction season that is going to be lost in the Northern States if we do not get a long-term bill put into place.

I appreciate very much the chairman's work in taking a very fair and evenhanded approach in how he has tried to distribute a certain amount of finite funding for this bill. As he mentioned in his remarks, this is a balance that must be struck between the large States and the small States. Frankly, passage of this legislation is critical not only to my home State, but to the Nation as a whole.

Since my service in the House of Representatives, I have long been a supporter of a strong federal role when it comes to transportation infrastructure funding. In fact, I believe the transportation infrastructure is one of the primary responsibilities of the federal government. After all, an adequate transportation infrastructure that is safe and affordable helps facilitate the movement of the goods and services on which our economy relies. Additionally, investing in our transportation infrastructure is a proven way to ease congestion and improve the safety of our highway system.

If we look at the economic impact of what we are talking about today, it is profound. For every $1 billion invested in federal highway and transit spending, 47,500 jobs and job opportunities are created or sustained. For every $1 billion in highway and transit expenditures, gross domestic product, GDP, will increase by $1.75 billion, a multiplier effect of 1.75.

So this is important to our economy in terms of the jobs it will create, the growth it will bring about in our Nation's economy, and it is critical that this legislation, which has been held up since the last Congress, move forward. It is one of the most important measures the House and Senate must resolve this year. And it is incredibly time sensitive as we look at the sixth extension we are operating with today and the need to get a permanent bill in place so this construction season will not be lost on many of those transportation departments in the Northern States.

I have heard regularly from officials from the South Dakota Department of Transportation who are concerned about the tremendous uncertainty they face as a result of not having a long-term bill. The business community, local officials, tribal leaders, and constituents across South Dakota continue to ask me why critical transportation projects are delayed from getting off the ground. I recognize that a handful of my colleagues from donor States are concerned that the bill, as reported by the Environment and Public Works Committee, does not go far enough to boost their overall rate of return. But the bill the Environment and Public Works Committee reported out last month, S. 732, does more to address the donor issue than the administration's reauthorization proposal or the bill as passed by the House of Representatives last month.

The clearest way to address the underlying concern that donor States have raised is to add more funding to this bill. In fact, I plan to support the amendment I understand Finance Committee Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Baucus intend to offer because boosting this bill's overall funding level is the straightforward way to increase the minimum guarantee donor States seek without unfairly reducing the funding for donee States, such as South Dakota.

I look forward to working with my colleagues and with the chairmen and the ranking members from the various Senate committees responsible for this legislation.

As I said earlier, time is of the essence. It is important we work together to pass this bill so that conference negotiations between the House and the Senate can get underway, especially in light of the extension that is slated to expire on May 31.

I again commend the leadership of our committee, and the leadership on both sides in the Senate for their desire to bring this bill to the floor to ensure we are taking the steps necessary, when this current extension expires at the end of May, to have a new permanent bill in place that will address the critical infrastructure needs of our Nation as we move into the future. Many of the highways, interstates, and roads across this country are in poor or mediocre condition. Mr. President, 27 percent of our bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. It is important we get to work on this legislation in the Senate so we can get to conference with the House, resolve any differences that exist, and get a permanent funding solution put in place for the States, the cities, the business community, and all the jobs and economic development that go with it.

Mr. President, I again urge my colleagues to support this motion to proceed to the legislation. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their good work. I see Senator Bond, from Missouri, who has also been instrumental in crafting this legislation. I appreciate the leadership and work this committee has put in to get the bill to the floor. It is time we get it voted on and signed into law.

I yield the floor.

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