Issue Position: Transportation
Issue Position
In the 4th District, there are three transportation projects that are a priority for me. First is to complete the Purple Line that will connect Bethesda and New Carrollton metro stations, reducing traffic and commute times, and opening up new employment opportunities in those areas. Second, the Corridor Cities Transit Way in Clarksburg is critical to connect communities and economic development in the northern part of the Congressional district. Third, develop Metrorail across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that connects National Airport, Joint Base Andrews and National Harbor in the south. These projects will help ease traffic congestion by increasing the use and versatility of public transportation, improve local air and water quality, and enhance positive economic development. In addition, maintaining and running these projects will create thousands of new jobs in our district.
I was grateful that in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act for FY 2011 I was able to secure $1.5 million for the Purple Line, which builds on the $3 million I secured in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010. As a long-time advocate for the Purple Line, I am proud to secure federal funding for the Purple Line project that I believe is critical to our entire region. This is an opportunity to redefine the scope of public transportation throughout our communities, providing connectivity and much needed transportation options in the region.
In order to pay for these projects, transportation infrastructure must be made a higher budgetary priority. While we continue to rely on the gas tax for substantial funding, that funding stream is becoming increasingly insufficient to meet our national transportation deficit. I have been working with my colleagues on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee to identify other revenue sources, such as an infrastructure bank which would encourage private investment in transportation and a transaction tax on crude oil securities.
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