Newsletter: 1/24/07

Newsletter: 1/24/07
Dear Friend,
It is both a privilege and an honor to represent you in the United States Congress. While serving you, I will continue my outreach efforts to inform you of my legislative actions. I welcome your advice. Government "by the people" is the cornerstone of my legislative philosophy.
To better serve you closer to home, I invite you to visit or contact any of my three district offices, conveniently located in Baltimore City, Catonsville, and Ellicott City.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Member of Congress
Contents:
Announcements
Actions in Washington
Commentary from Congressman Cummings
Actions on the House Floor

Announcements and Upcoming Events
Naming Ceremony for the Parren J. Mitchell Post Office: On Friday, January 26, 2007, Congressman Cummings will host a ceremony officially designating the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 6101 Liberty Road in Baltimore, Maryland, as the U.S. Representative Parren J. Mitchell Post Office. The event will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD. Those interested in attending must RSVP by calling (410) 347-4493. Important note: The ceremony will be held at a separate location from the Post Office.
Howard County Town Hall: On Saturday, January 27, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Congressman Cummings will host a town hall meeting at the Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland 21044, John G. Monteabaro Recital Hall, located inside the Peter & Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center. Parking will be available in Lot G. At the town hall, Congressman Cummings will discuss the plans of the 110th Congress, and what the new Democratic majority means, particularly to the citizens of the 7th Congressional District. This event is free and open to the public.

Actions in Washington
Cummings to Chair Subcommittee Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
Congressman Cummings has been named the Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Subcommittee oversees the U.S. Coast Guard and sets policy priorities for all aspects of maritime transportation.
"I am deeply honored to have been selected by my colleagues to chair this Subcommittee, which is responsible for overseeing the operations of the U.S. Coast Guard and for setting policy priorities for all aspects of maritime transportation in the United States," Chairman Cummings said. "Importantly, my appointment as Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee will enable me to bring a new focus to the issues that confront the Port of Baltimore as well as the Chesapeake Bay," Chairman Cummings added.
The Baltimore Port District is the thirteenth largest district in the nation in the tonnage of foreign cargo handled, and ranks first in importing trucks and wood products and second in sugar, aluminum, and liquefied natural gas. The Port of Baltimore is also the home of the U.S. Coast Guard's only shipyard for new vessel construction.
"The Port of Baltimore is an economic engine for Maryland, generating more than 40,000 jobs that paid $2.4 billion in personal wage and salary income in 2005. I look forward to working with State officials to support the growth of the Port," said Chairman Cummings.
As Chairman, Congressman Cummings will vigorously pursue each of the three policy objectives that Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) has laid out for the Transportation Committee, which include ensuring the safety and security of our transportation infrastructure; supporting expanded investment in transportation infrastructure to relieve congestion and enhance mobility; and, ensuring environmental stewardship, including combating climate change.
"I congratulate Representative Cummings on his election as Chairman of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, and I look forward to working with him on Coast Guard matters, as well as issues of importance to the nation's other transportation and infrastructure systems," said Representative James L. Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "Because the Port of Baltimore has a direct impact on his district, Representative Cummings brings vast experience in and knowledge of seaport and transportation issues. As subcommittee Chairman, he will be even more influential as a national leader on matters of concern to those industries."
'For more details on Congressman Cummings priorities for the Subcommittee, please read his opinion piece below.
Cummings Introduces Bill to Create Research Program on Hazardous Materials Transportation
In order to better address the transportation of hazardous materials, Congressman Cummings has re-introduced a bill to provide for the establishment of a hazardous materials cooperative research program (H.R. 99). If passed, the legislation would meet our nation's urgent need for applied research that examines hazardous materials transportation from a comprehensive, multi-modal perspective.
During the 109th Congress, Congressman Cummings introduced similar legislation and, although it did not pass as introduced, major provisions from that bill were included in the most recent federal transportation authorization, SAFETEA-LU. Those provisions provided a total of $1.25 million in federal funding per year from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2009 to support the conduct of 9 multi-modal studies of hazardous materials transportation.
While the first of these 9 studies are now being planned for implementation and will cover such topics as technologies to improve safety and security and methods for improving the utility of data collected from hazardous materials incidents, H.R. 99 would create a permanent research program for hazardous materials transportation.
"It is estimated that one million hazardous materials shipments move through thousands of local communities across the United States every single day - usually without the knowledge of residents or even of local officials. Between 1994 and 2003, unintentional releases of hazardous materials resulted in 210 fatalities and more than 3,400 injuries," Congressman Cummings said. "Unfortunately, it is our tendency to focus on mitigating the risks that these shipments pose only after an accident occurs."
In 2001, such an accident occurred in Baltimore when a train derailed in a tunnel, puncturing a tank car and releasing a hazardous material that subsequently ignited. Although no fatalities or injuries resulted from this accident in the heart of Baltimore, it demonstrated one of the most dramatic risks of hazardous materials transportation.
"I have seen these risks firsthand. That is why I am again introducing legislation to create a permanent hazardous materials cooperative research program," Congressman Cummings said.
Under our nation's current regime for regulating the shipment of hazardous materials, more than a dozen federal agencies - as well as literally thousands of state and local agencies - regulate some aspect of hazardous materials transportation. While each of these entities is critical and necessary to ensuring the safety of hazardous materials transportation, each entity is typically looking at hazardous materials from the perspective of a single mode, a single type of material, or a single travel route.
Congressman Cummings said, "What we now lack is a comprehensive, multi-modal perspective that can examine risks and develop mitigation strategies that are applicable across modes, material types, and travel routes."
To fill this gap, Congressman Cummings introduced H.R. 99 to bring together representatives of federal agencies, private sector shippers and carriers, and state and local governments in a formal program to study cross-cutting topics in hazardous materials transportation that are not adequately addressed by existing mode-specific research programs.
The study program will be particularly focused on completing research projects that yield practical results immediately applicable to transportation issues.
"Without the ability to adequately research and respond to issues in hazardous materials transportation that are multi-modal in scope and national in application, our ability to make informed legislative, regulatory, and operational decisions regarding hazardous materials transportation is unacceptably limited," Congressman Cummings said.
Cummings Named to Prestigious Armed Services Committee
For the 110th Congress, Congressman Cummings has been named to the prestigious House Armed Services Committee. The Committee has responsibility for overseeing all issues pertaining to the Department of Defense, including overseeing the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Marine Corps. The Committee also exercises oversight responsibilities over national defense and military strategy, and such critical issues as international arms control and the detention of enemy combatants in U.S. military facilities.
"I am deeply honored to have been selected to be a member of the House Armed Services Committee. At a time when our nation is confronted by expanding terror threats and is mired in a terrible conflict in Iraq, defense and military policy is central to all policy discussions in Congress. I look forward to joining the Committee's urgent consideration of the direction of U.S. policy in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the global war on terrorism."
Congressman Cummings will be the only Democratic Member from the state
http://cummings.congressnewsletter.net/common/mailings/?id=13