Issue Position: Transportation
Issue Position
Issue Position: Transportation
* Works to ensure that Pennsylvania receives more highway and transit funding than its motorists contribute in federal gasoline taxes.
* Consistent supporter of Amtrak and other passenger rail systems in Pennsylvania , which reduce highway congestion and auto emissions.
* Authored program which enables transit systems to connect low-income individuals in urban areas to suburban job centers.
As a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked on a number of pressing issues affecting our national transportation system. I have also worked to ensure that Pennsylvania receives its fair share of Federal transportation funding for highways, transit systems, airports, and rail lines throughout the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania has the fourth largest highway system in the nation, with 25,000 bridges and 40,500 miles of state highway which serve as prime routes for delivering goods throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Pennsylvania's roads are in continual need of repair and upgrade, and I have consistently fought for increased Federal highway funding. In the 109th Congress, I voted for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This important legislation, which the President signed into law on August 10, 2005, authorizes Federal surface transportation programs through Fiscal Year 2009. SAFETEA-LU allocates funding for critical transportation and infrastructure needs across the nation. This legislation also provides a federal funding formula under which states receive a return on money paid in federal gasoline taxes. Under the bill's formula, Pennsylvania receives more dollars than it contributes. Truly, Pennsylvania is the ``Keystone State'' when it comes to moving goods from East-to-West and North-to-South in our region; it is the key gateway connecting New England and the Northeast to the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Due to Pennsylvania's aging roadway system and adverse weather conditions, problems such as potholes and highway and bridge deterioration require that Pennsylvania be granted an equitable level of federal highway funding.
To help ease the burden on our nation's roads, as well as reduce congestion and pollution resulting from our ever-increasing use of automobiles, we must continue to focus our energies on building and maintaining our nation's mass transit system. One initiative which I helped author is the Job Access and Reverse Commute program, which provides funding to transit systems, enabling them to offer service to low income individuals in urban areas so they may access suburban job centers. I am also continuing to work to secure funding for several Pennsylvania transit projects.
Amtrak plays an integral role in the future of passenger transportation. To assist Amtrak with its capital and operating costs, I helped appropriate $1.3 billion to Amtrak in Fiscal Year 2006. To ensure the stability and solvency of Amtrak, during the 109th Congress I also cosponsored S. 1516, the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005," which would authorize $11.4 billion for Amtrak through Fiscal Year 2011. While Amtrak's fiscal needs are significant, I believe we would be severely disadvantaged without a national passenger rail system.
My vision for the 21st century includes high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) trains capable of traveling at speeds of more than 300 mph from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, with an estimated time of under two hours and stops in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Altoona, Johnstown, and Greensburg. Such a system will greatly improve travel within the Commonwealth and provide tremendous economic opportunities throughout Pennsylvania and the nation. Currently I am working to establish a 54-mile demonstration project in the Pittsburgh region which is competing for Federal funding to become the first maglev system constructed in the United States.
With passenger demand for air travel expected to increase significantly over the next 15 years, increasing airspace capacity at the nation's busiest airports and replacing outdated air traffic technology is essential to avoiding gridlock in the skies and cumbersome passenger delays. Rest assured that I will continue to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that Pennsylvania's airports receive an appropriate level of attention.
I look forward to continuing my work to ensure that Congress addresses the many needs of our nation's transportation system.
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