Press Releases

Thank you, Chairwoman Norton.  I want to welcome everyone to today’s hearing on the transportation needs of Tribes, Federal Land Management Agencies, and U.S. Territories.

The programs we authorize in this committee provide $1.5 billion annually and account for 3.2 percent of all Highway Trust Fund outlays.  While I do not have any tribal lands in my district, I do have land managed by federal agencies like the National Park Service (NPS). 

To put the overall $1.5 billion into perspective, the latest report from the NPS indicates a deferred maintenance backlog of $11.9 billion dollars.  Of that $11.9 billion, nearly $6.2 billion represents NPS’ need to repair bridges, tunnels, parking areas, and roadways in national parks.

Addressing the needs of those testifying today is absolutely linked to addressing this backlog.  As we address deferred maintenance it will open the door for new projects and make the funding we authorize go further.

In Springfield, Illinois, located within my congressional district, is one such new project that I’ve been working to get designated by NPS as a National Historic Monument.  The Springfield Race Riot National Historic Monument would preserve and protect resources associated with the 1908 Springfield Race Riot and its role in formation of the NAACP.  With that, I want to thank our witnesses for being with us this morning, including Satch Pecori who has been influential in efforts to designate the site.