Transportation

Transportation

I served as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and transportation issues constituted one of my top priorities in Congress.

Simply put, our transportation infrastructure in the greater Houston area is a mess. There's hardly anyone living in Texas's 22nd congressional district who doesn't dread the thought of crawling along Interstate 45 or Highway 59 at a snail's pace. I worked very hard to increase transportation funding for the Houston area and strongly disagreed with Rep. Tom DeLay when he took an "over my dead body" approach to increased light rail and Metro funding. Building a better transportation infrastructure in Southeast Texas means a boost to the local economy, more jobs, and a lot fewer headaches as Texans travel through our communities. We should have started light rail and increased Metro funding years ago. But Tom DeLay used his position in Congress to block these efforts. I will work hard to help the greater Houston area play catch up when it comes to more and better transportation funding for our region and recover from Tom DeLay's lack of support.

The circumstances surrounding the September 11th terrorist attacks shaped much of my work on the Transportation Committee. As a member of the Aviation Subcommittee, which has direct oversight of our nation's aviation security issue, I played a key role in passing Aviation Security legislation, which helped to shore up security at our nation's airports. The bill created a new Transportation Security Administration which oversees modifications in our nation's transportation infrastructure. To ensure the safety of the flying public, I proposed ensuring that all checked baggage is screened for explosives by new explosive detection equipment, and that the responsibility for all airport baggage and passenger screening be performed by highly-trained and monitored federal law enforcement.

I also helped to pass the Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act because increasing the viability and continued security of our ports and waterways is essential in maintaining public confidence and lasting economic prosperity. America's ports are the lifeblood of trade -- the veritable backbone of commerce in this country -- and no where is this truer than in Southeast Texas. Yet gaping holes in our maritime and cargo infrastructure remain. The passage of the Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act provided the resources necessary to allow our maritime community to increase security measures, and ensures the continued viability of waterway commerce. But there is so much more to be done and security remains a very serious concern for our ports and waterways.

We must look ahead to ensure we have a viable transportation infrastructure capable of handling our expanding economy for years to come. This means ensuring that Texas has federal funds available for highway, roadway, waterway, and flood mitigation projects.

http://www.lampson.com/issues?id=0009