12/06/19 CAGTC: Summary of 12/5 House T&I Subcommittee Hearing

Dear CAGTC Members,

On December 5, the House Transportation & Infrastructure’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee and Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee held a joint hearing titled “Where’s My Stuff? Examining the Economic, Environmental, and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation.”

Witnesses on the panel included: Erin Aleman, Executive Director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), on behalf of both CAGTC and CMAP; Ian Jefferies, Association of American Railroads; Chuck Baker, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; Dr. Anne Goodchild, University of Washington’s Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center; Jason Mathers, Environmental Defense Fund; and Jim Tymon, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Should you be interested, Erin Aleman’s full testimony on behalf of CAGTC and CMAP can be found online here and CAGTC’s press release about the hearing is located here. More information, as well as a recording of the hearing, can be found here.

Attached please find a summary of relevant conversation from the hearing here, with a few key takeaways below:

  • Members of Congress emphasized the need for a long-term surface transportation reauthorization package to provide continued investments in our freight infrastructure network;
  • Consistent with CAGTC’s reauthorization priorities, nearly all witnesses and several Members of Congress specifically called for the removal of the caps for non-highway funding under both the freight formula program and the INFRA grant program; and
  • Witnesses and Democratic Members of Congress emphasized the need for increased transparency in USDOT’s selection process for grant awards.

Thank you,

Cecile

Cecile Entleitner
Manager, Member Communications & Policy
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
1625 K Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
tradecorridors.org
(202) 828-9100