Hearing

#StuckinTraffic Townhall

Welcome to today’s hearing, and welcome to our distinguished witness, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.  This is our first hearing of the year on surface transportation reauthorization —one of our top priorities.  We are actively working together with Ranking Member DeFazio and our colleagues on and off the Committee to write a bill that’s good for America.

This bill is about allowing U.S. businesses to be competitive and allowing our economy to prosper and grow.  It’s about making sure that Americans don’t waste countless hours stuck in traffic.  It’s about not having to worry about the potholes, the delays, and the traffic jams – from the time we walk out the door in the morning to the time we get back home.  It’s about making sure that we can purchase the goods and services we all depend on – and keeping those things affordable for American families.  And this bill is about jobs – not just construction jobs, but jobs across the economy, for small businesses, in manufacturing, in agriculture, and more.

We know our roads, bridges, and transit systems have significant needs.  In order to address those needs, this bill will be built around key principles.

We need a long-term bill to provide certainty for states and other non-federal partners to accomplish large projects.  We need to get Washington out of the way of innovation – both in terms of innovative financing and new transportation technologies.  We need to reform federal government, accelerate project delivery, and focus funding where it’s needed the most.  We need to empower states and local governments with more authority – to make the best decisions for our communities.  And we need to be fiscally responsible.  A bill that is not fiscally responsible simply will not pass this Congress.  I am confident that, working with leaders in House and Senate, the Ways and Means Committee, and others, we can figure out the funding issues.

By passing a good bill, we can ensure Americans’ quality of life and facilitate economic growth for years to come.

I look forward to hearing from Secretary Foxx about the importance of this legislation.  We’re not going to agree on everything, but transportation is an area where we can find common ground and get something done for America.  I also look forward to continuing our conversation about this issue on Twitter immediately after the hearing, #StuckInTraffic.

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