Transcripts For CSPAN2 Senate Hearing On Transportation 20240713

We will come to order. Todays hearing will focus on the reauthorization of the fast act, the nations current surface transportation bill that expires on september 30. We will hear the priorities of key Public Transportation stakeholders. A longterm reauthorization bill is critical to providing the certainty of stability that transit agencies, cities andos d to make responsible transportation lighting decisions. Public transportation plays a key role in our nations economy there are over 400 30,000 workers employed and Public Transportation in the United States. Transit provides approximately 33 million trips every day. Taking Many Americans to and from work, school and medical appointments. Not just in big urban cities, but also small areas. We have found ourselves with yet another reauthorization where the Highway Trust Fund is a most significant issue that needs to be addressed. In order to advance a comprehensive longterm reauthorization bill. While this committee does not have jurisdiction over how these bills are paid for, it is important that revenue shortfalls are addressed in a way that meets current transportation needs. The Highway Trust Fund was originally intended to be funded with federal gas and diesel taxes. However, since 1993, congress has chosen to transfer general fund money into the Highway Trust Fund to pay for reauthorization bills. The highway account required 52. 8 billion funds, general Fund Transfer dollars to pay for the fast act and the transit portion of the fast act required 18. 1 billion general fund infusion. As Congress Explores options for offsetting the cost of the multi year reauthorization, i remind them that fannie mae and freddie mac guarantee and Federal Reserve dividends and Federal Reserve surplus funds should not be used as a piggy bank. Public transportation is an area of our committee which is historically known for having overwhelming bipartisan support. I intend to work with senator brown to continue the bipartisan tradition as we seek to balance the needs of bus and rail, urban and rural systems across the country. There are many changes to the Mobility Landscape such as the rise of Ondemand Service, transitions to electric vehicles and deployment of autonomous technologies that should be addressed and comprehensive longterm bill. Traditional fixed route Transit Service is an essential backbone for comprehensive Transportation Networks. However, there have been numerous technological advances that can enable a Higher Quality of service at a lower cost that agency should consider. For example, Transit Agency should incorporate these technologies to complement fixed Route Service outside of service hours. To provide nonemergency medical transportation. To bring writers to or from fixed Route Service to their final destinations. And to modernize fair payment collection just to name a few. Federal policy should provide more certainty to transit agencies by addressing statutory and regulatory burdens in order to provide more innovation into the transit industry. Federal policies should encourage businesslike operated stations of Transit Systems. This includes streamlining efficiencies, maintaining assets in a state of good repair, leveraging resources for procurements and seeking out partnerships with the private sector where appropriate. While there are many challenges ahead, it is possible for this committee to Work Together to produce a longterm, fiscally responsible reauthorization bill that can garner the bipartisan support both here and on the senate floor. I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses today. Of the priorities of their organizations and i thank them for their willingness to appear here today. Senator brown. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I look forward to working with you to develop a partisan transit title for surface transportation bill. Thank you to the witnesses in all you do for Public Transit in this country. Public transportation help the people we serve reach better jobs and spend less of their time and hard earned money communing. Hard work should pay off, but for most people wages are flat. Costs are up. Housing, healthcare, childcare and yes transportation. We know transportation will be a huge drain on Family Budgets and their time. It can limit job choices. It makes it harder to hold down jobs farther from where people live. The average American Household spends 13 of its income on transportation. Low income workers spend between 20 and 30 of their wages of commuting. An unexpected car repair or accident can devastate families who rely on their cars to get to work. We know that 40 of americans dont have the money to cover 400 expense in an emergency. We know 25 spend at least half of their income on rent. We know so many people live on the edge. What happens . They lose their job because they cant get to work after their car breaks down. They go to a payday lender. They get trapped in a cycle of debt. Either way people feel trapped. One car breakdown away from losing. A more balanced Transportation System with high quality Transit Service can give writers a quick and affordable trip to and from school, to and from work to school to a doctors appointment. It is Pretty Simple when you are better faster Transit Service. More people use appeared in columbus, State Capitol my stay, Central Ohio Transit Authority redesigned a bus route to build a bus Rapid Transit line. It had its highest ridership in 31 years. The bart which i proudly support and contribute to a 25 increase in ridership and the cleveland avenue corridor work since it opened two years ago. When we build better Public Transportation, everyone wins. The cincinnati usa Regional Chamber understands that. They are part of a Broad Coalition to fund highfrequency bus service and road improvements are out hamilton county. In addition to connecting more workers to jobs, highway congestion. It is Pretty Simple. Fewer people on the road. Those that do can get to work faster. Public transit reduces Greenhouse Gas emissions from the transportation sector. The Fastest Growing source of carbon pollution. We are about the tradeoff between creating jobs and climate change, but Public Transit we know does both. It reduces emissions while creating new jobs in manufacturing and operating buses and subways. The fast act in 2015 provided record level of investment in Public Transportation that expires at the end of september and the amount of backlog repairs of the nations Transit Systems has continued to grow peaking at 99 billion in u. S. Dot most recent estimate. What these backlogs mean, more delays when real cars and buses breakdown they mean longer commutes, more crowded highways. In cleveland, the rta operates a fleet of 74 railcars. All of them, every single one of them is more than 34 years old. Needed to be replaced years ago. Cities like cleveland face sizable repairs that cannot be delayed any longer. In addition to providing more, record investment in the Facilities Program and the low and no Emission Vehicle held transit agencies, replace aging vehicles and began fully converting their fleet student zero emission technology. Fta is processing applications under the Capital Investment grants program fairly and efficiently in accordance with the law. Not adding extra requirements or delay and projects. Every single one of these investments should be an investment and good paying american jobs. We need to strengthen requirements. It is not complicated. American tax dollars should be spent on American Products made in america. Safety is always a priority of this committee. We have developed legislation to improve rail inspections. Make sure that our transit workers have the right training and make sure they have a safe workplace. We should not be outsourcing safety functions and the services. I look forward to hearing from representatives of our nations transit providers and the u. S. Chamber. I look forward to hearing from mr. Willis who can speak to the transit workforce needs. To move forward, the finance committee will need to find new funds for the Highway Trust Fund. I will continue working to ensure a mass transit account receives as tradition 20 or more of any new revenue at the Highway Trust Fund. Finally while i work forward to working on this bill, housing is also critical infrastructure. Much for our committee to do. There are hazards in homes across the country including lead that we need to combat. More safe Affordable Homes and preserve the ones that weve got. I hope the transportation bill can support opportunities for transit Oriented Residential Development and other development, but we need comprehensive investment in this infrastructure. Housing needs to be part of that investment. Thank you. Thank you, senator brown. Todays witnesses are president and chief executive officer of the transportation association, mr. Patrick mckenna, president of state highway and transportation officials, mr. Scott, executive director of the Community Transportation association of america, mr. Ed mortimer, Vice President transportation and infrastructure at the u. S. Chamber of commerce and mr. Larry willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department aflcio. Again, welcome to all of you. Your written testimony has been entered into the record. I encourage each of you to wrap up your initial comments by paying attention to the clock feared we do have a vote call that may jam us in a little while. If you stay on time, it will help us stay on time. With that, you may proceed. Chairman crapo, Ranking Member brown and members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify today on the surface transportation reauthorization. I am the president chief executive officer of the transportation association. The association represents over 1500 public and private sector organizations that touch all areas of Public Transit. We are the voice of Public Transit north america. I want to thank you, mr. Chairman and senator jones and mick sally for your leadership in passing the jones mix sally amendment to the 2020 transportation appropriations bill which blocked an automatic 12 , 1. 2 billion reduction for transit agencies across the country. It would have affected every agency. We are deeply grateful for your efforts. Nearly 10 billion times each year with every trip meeting a need or providing an opportunity. Transit is 10 times safer than driving an automobile. It saves money. People can save 10,000 a year by writing Public Transit instead of driving. Yet we still have work to do to provide these benefits and opportunities to more communities. 45 of Americans Still do not have access to Public Transportation. Transit is the job creator. 74 billion industry that directly employs some 435,000 employees and support several million private sector jobs. Importantly, 55 of all transit expenditures flow to the private sector creating or sustaining nearly 50,000 jobs for every 1 billion that is invested. Transit is also important for rural access. People that live in rural areas, transit especially for veterans, seniors and people with disabilities is a lifeline ensuring that access to medical care and other essential appointments can be taken. We have three Top Priorities as part of the reauthorization that i want to share with you. Number one. Providing 145 elegant dollars over six years for Public Transit to fund critical projects that will address the entire state of good repair backlog and fund all the Capital Investment grant projects in the pipeline in the next six years. Reestablishing the historical share of 20 Capital Funding for bus and bus facilities. Number three, creating a new mobility innovation and Technology Initiative to integrate cutting Edge Technologies new Service Delivery approaches and Mobility Options in the transit marketplace. To make these necessary investments, the Highway Trust Fund must be addressed. We strongly support the u. S. Chamber of commerce proposal to increase the gas tax by 0. 05 per year for five years. However, we are also open to any other reasonable bipartisan plan to reduce revenues to the Highway Trust Fund. As you make these difficult choices necessary to fund this bill, we urge you to first fix a shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. Second, after you fix that shortfall we ask that you increase investment in Public Transportation and that it receive at least 20 of the new revenue. Bold investment in Public Transportation will address our repair needs. 99 billion is the u. S. Dot figured several years old. That number is growing and likely will continue to grow. Today almost one in five transit buses and vans are beyond their useful life and the average age of a real vehicle is close to 20 years. Transit is also a key link to equity and opportunity. Public transportation provides a ladder to opportunity for millions of americans. One out of five transit users are from households earning less than 15,000 a year. Transit is also a contributor to ensuring cleaner air as the industry is at the forefront of transitioning to cleaner fuel technologies and fuel sources. Currently more than half of the transit buses use alternative fuels with more than 17 utilizing hybrid technology. We hundred buses in Service Today with zero emission. Zero batterypowered and Hydrogen Fueled him anymore on order. A major source of funding for expanding services to our Capital Investment Grant Program that is administered by fda. More than half of all states have benefited from the cig projects. Economic benefits of cig projects are wideranging in addition to the critical local economic benefits of each individual project there are vehicles parts and supplies that are made in america in states all across the nation that are part of the supply chain. Currently 50 cig projects requesting nearly 25 billion in cig funding. Unfortunately over the past two decades both congress and fta have repeated layered additional requirements on the program resulting in bureaucratic maze. After strongly urging the committee to conduct a zerobased review to address all statutory regulatory and administrative requirements. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. We look forward to working with you and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, mr. Mckenna. Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the future of Public Transportation and the reauthorization of the fast act. I am patrick mckenna. I serve as director of the Missouri Department of transportation and president of the American Association of state highway and transportation officials. It is my honor to testify on behalf of the great state of missouri. Representing all 50 states, washington, d. C. And puerto rico. Public transportation is of Vital Public Service in urban and Rural Communities throughout the United States providing more than 10 billion passenger trips annually since 2006. State dot and transit agencies are key providers of the essential mobility services. States continue to make significant investments in Public Transportation at levels consistently higher than the federal government while states are willing to commit more their funds for Public Transit, they need to see Significant Growth in federal investments in order to improve our nations Public Transportation systems. Dot welcomed todays discussion related to the Public Transportation title of the fast act which expires at the end of september. I would like to emphasize the following priorities. Our vision for reauthorization. Principles for reauthorizations as it relates to transportation policy. Specific reauthorization policy recommendations. Ensuring the safety of americans using our service Transportation System remains a foremost priority of each state dot. In 2018, nearly 37,000 lives were lost on our nations roadways. Human behavior is a cause of more than 90 of fatalities and incidents each year. A loss of 100 souls a day. We should all find this totally unacceptable. Public transportation provides the safest form of transportation. Rural Public Transportation is even safer. Having recorded only three nationwide for 2018. Thankfully none in missouri. Public transportation delivers more than 60,000,003,000,000,000 of economic impact. Public transportation helps mitigate traffic congestion, conserve fuel and enhance highway efficiency and addresses air quality issues. October 2019, the board of directors adopted policy recommendations for the next Service Transfer rotation authorization bill to summarize several key points. We must ensure timely reauthorization of a long Time Transportation bill, fix the Highway Trust Fund and enact a longterm sustainable solution now. Increase and federal funding provided to states, increase flexibility, improve project delivery and support and ensure state dots ability to harness innovation and technology. Transit operators would like to increase capital assistant projects to 90 . It is difficult for rural and specialized transit agencies to meet the requirements for new vehicles. There are some key reauthorization policy recommendations for the council on Public Transportation. We should support the gold Safety Management systems, Public Transportation agency plan and state of good repair. Extend the program for Public Transportation. Maintain and grow the bus and bus facility formula and Discretionary Program in the low Emission Vehicle discretionary Grant Program. Maintain the current maximum match ratios for Public Transit programs to support rural and urban communities. Individuals with disabilities and seniors and our transit infrastructure. State dots remain committed to assisting congress and the development of strategies to ensure longterm Economic Growth and enhance quality of life through a robust investment and Public Transportation programs and projects. Fortunately, Infrastructure Investment has been one of the top policy agenda items for the last few years even if significant action is yet to be taken. Americans get it. They understand the benefits and they want to see investment in our Transportation Systems. This is a unique window of option to take bold action to invest in our transportation infrastructure at the level to guarantee the success of our nations future. This has a clear support of the American Public and its time for the president and congress to make it happen. We cannot streamline our way into providing a safe and sound Transportation System. We cannot cut our way to buying steel concrete asphalt and equipment labor. We must move together in providing safety, service and stability for all. Thank you again for the honor and opportunity to testify today. I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you appeared. Good morning, chairman crapo, Ranking Member brown and members of the committee. I am here representing the 1400 members of the Community Transportation association of america. We appreciate this important opportunity to discuss our views on surface transportation reauthorization. The membership is comprised of Transportation Providers in smaller cities, in rural and tribal communities and with those providing Specialized Services to older adults, people with disabilities, veterans and those providing nonemergency medical transportation trips. To briefly summarize our priorities, our membership has told us it needs funding stability and growth in surface transportation reauthorization along with common sense Regulatory Reform and because our members operate buses and vans, increasing dedicated bus and bus facilities capital has been a priority and we certainly appreciated the support from the senate and recent appropriations that have boosted those funds. The reauthorization is a prime opportunity for congress to make the nation surface Transportation System more responsive to the american people. Public and Community Transportation will play a vital role in doing this by keeping our population of older adults active, healthy in aging in place by connecting americans of all ages with increasing transportation dependent outpatient and therapeutic Healthcare Services by taking millions of americans to and from work in education every day by easing congestion and traffic in urban areas and connecting increasingly regional rural areas. Deploying new technology and operational strategies to make public and Community Transportation more customer friendly, efficient and costeffective. By taking a value based approach, looking beyond ridership and instead focuses on the Economic Activities that take place after our passengers leave the bus. By Building Partnerships with the public and private sectors predicated on Economic Impacts and outcomes and by uniting the full collection of transit providers in a community into a Responsive Network that includes both traditional fixed Route Services and new ondemand mobility. To meet these goals, we need stable, predictable investments from the traditional state and local partnership that has built the current network. We are going to need new investment programs that take into account new ways of serving passengers, new metrics of success like cost savings in cost avoidance in the Healthcare Industry, land values, Emission Reductions and we will need right size regulations for smaller operators. Where we can maintain accessibility, safety and quality while providing these systems room to grow. It is one thing to discuss policy and regulation today, but we must not forget public and Community Transportation is a people business. The members providing all across the country every day are really a lifeline. Here is an example. This past fall in rural petersburg West Virginia, a passenger on one of our member systems began to cry after having been safely boarded on a Potomac Valley Transit Authority bus. After composing herself she told the driver that she had been confined to her house for years only able to leave for medical appointments and the systems new ready Ondemand Service in a rural area allowed her to go independently to the store, hair appointments, the bank. As a began the trip she began to cry again. She told the driver she realized how much she missed in the colors of the leaves in West Virginia. It is these types of trips that make it unique. Better support these community and Public Transportation providers who are selflessly serving their communities. Keeping our growing populations active in connecting americans with critical services. I am really happy to be here today and look forward to the discussion that will ensue. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Mortimer. Good morning mr. Crapo, members of the committee. I serve at the United States chamber of commerce. I am also a privilege to as executive director of the American Transportation mobility which was established in 2000 and includes business, labor, trucking and various stakeholders advocating for improved and federal investment in the nations aging and overburdened Transportation System. A Founding Member on our management committee. Public transportation provides very real and tangible benefits to employers, employees and communities. One half of all trips taken on Public Transportation are to and from work did the changing travel patterns of americans today underscores the role Public Transportation as a critical component of the new Mobility Landscape. For many communities both rural and urban both Public Transportation provides access to jobs and economic opportunity. More at nationwide are utilizing Public Transportation to attract a younger workforce that expects to have accessibility to these options. Public transportation can also play a key role in providing underserved parts of our nation the opportunity for mobility and growth. Not only spurring Economic Growth, but reduces congestion, improves air quality, saves time and money and advances an equitable and better quality of life. My written testimony describes America Service Center Transportation infrastructure, once the envy of the world is at a crisis point. Most of the infrastructure was built 60100 years ago. Our nation has moved from a brickandmortar economy to ecommerce and new Mobility Options are required. The chamber believes now is the time, not just to maintain our current Public Transportation program, but to modernize it. This has been building for many years. This committee and this congress has an opportunity to do something about it. While improvements to the state of Good Repair Program in a Capital Investment program are needed, as well as a longterm sustainable Funding Source for the future of the Highway Trust Fund, without a timely reauthorization of surface transportation programs, gridlock will continue. From the moment the last bill was enacted into law in 2015, business, labor and other stakeholder groups have worked tirelessly for prompt action in 2020 to reauthorize these critical highway, bridge and transportation programs. The coalition has met with business and leaders around the country to ask what they expect their federal government to provide in legislation to modernize americas infrastructure. From boise to cincinnati and countless cities and towns nationwide we heard loud and clear the need for 21st century Transportation Network. One that will ensure america can compete in the global marketplace, find Mobility Options for growing and diverse population. The chamber produce a fourpoint plan to modernize americas infrastructure and have discussed it with numbers of congress on both sides of the aisle and both sides of capitol hill. We have express our willingness to work with both republicans and democrats to ensure commonsense funding and solution and get them enacted into law. I am glad to discuss the details of the chambers ideas during the question. Weird i wanted to use my Opening Statement to express her the frustration of millions of americans who spent so much time stocking congestion who miss their kids baseball game because a bridge was closed, a transit line was delayed due to repairs. Is this the america this committee in this Congress Wants . Many times, the cost of inaction cost more than the cost of action. We ask the federal government to get back to business and to the vision that made america the greatest nation on earth. From Teddy Roosevelt who oversaw the waterways to Dwight Eisenhower who developed the interstate highway system to Ronald Reagan who created the mass transit account of the Highway Trust Fund and he did it by adjusting the federal user fee. Federal leadership is key to connect our nation. The bottom line is, the time to make these important Infrastructure Investments is now. Delaying action only makes a decision more difficult and projects costlier. From the business communitys perspective, the question is not if we need to make these decisions, but when. The World Economic forum just ranked the infrastructure 14th. That is right. Is this a legacy we want to leave our kids and grandkids . The reauthorization needs to be bipartisan and ensure both rural and urban infrastructure issues are addressed. The bill needs to be paid for and adjusting the federal motor fee is a most efficient and transparent way to invest in highways, bridges and transit. The time to act is now on behalf of the american people. We appreciate the opportunity to testify in front of you today and we look forward to your questions. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Willis. On behalf of of our three affiliated unions and the 400,000 frontline employees who build, operate and maintain our buses, railcars and subway systems, i want to thank you chairman and Ranking Member brown and members of the committee for inviting me to testify today. My friends on this panel have already raised the significant needs of our Public Transportation system. I echo and support that call. Increasing federal funding is a critical step this committee can and must take to improve services across the country not just for our members who work in the sector. Not just for the millions of americans who already rely on Public Transit each day, but for the family in des moines iowa hill has to walk 2 miles to the Grocery Store because the community in which they live is not served by the local bus system. The Transit Authority would like to extend service there if it had the funds to do so. I am also here today to talk about the needs and concerns of our members. Frontline employees and steps that this committee can take to address their concerns and create good, safe jobs in the sector. First, we must end the epidemic of violence faced by transit officers while the fast act contained a bipartisan agreement to help stop online workers to administrations have failed to implement this mandate. Leaving drivers like thomas dunn in harms way. Air force veteran, husband and father drove for the Transit Authority in tampa, florida. Last may he was stabbed to death while on duty. Heroically and despite his injuries he pulled his boss to the spy hundred side of the road ensuring the safety of his passengers. He had complained about Driver Safety in just six months after his passing one of his coworkers was hospitalized after also being attacked while on duty. The transit Worker Protection act introduced by senator van holland would help prevent these tragedies. Under this bill, required to gather accurate assault data and to work with frontline employees and their unions to identify Real Solutions tailored to meet local needs. Second. The spread of new Mobility Options including ride hailing services, shared scooters, bikes , Automated Vehicle Pilot Projects is changing Public Transportation in our communities. What Mobility Options are adopted and how they are implemented matter. Ride hailing, for example, may seemed like a good low cost alternative system, but the appearance of affordability offered by the tubers and lifts of the world are depending on a Business Model that passes operating costs onto drivers and denies those same drivers fundamental rights to fair wages and benefits at a Union Contract can provide. We know that automated transit Pilot Projects are already on the ground in a number of cities and more are on the way. We also know that this administration and some in congress are setting policies and Regulatory Frameworks designed to facilitate the deployment without considering the workforce impacts of new technologies and services. History tells us that strong unions and worker engagements are essential to mitigate harms caused by rapid changes in the industries. Urging this committee to ensure that transit workers in the public are given a real voice at the table as any new Automation Services are discussed. Third period 90 of transit workers are bus and rail operators station employees, mechanics and other positions. Federal policy failed to support the Training Needs of this workforce risking major shortages and skill gaps in the coming years. Furthermore, as Technology Evolves in the sector, we know that there needs to recruit, train and retrain the next generation of technicians and other high skilled workers will only expand appeared to address these challenges, congress should provide funding for transit Training Center that focuses on the needs of these frontline workers. Finally, we know that jobs created by investments in Public Transit are good jobs that workers can raise families on. That is because of high Union Density in the sector and because of federal policies associated with transit investments since the creation of the program. It would be a mistake to use a surface bill to attack these important laws or to undercut collective bargaining. This committee must also strengthen and fully abide by american rules to Public Transit investments doing so will ensure that buses, railcars and Raw Materials made here in the u. S. Creating the kind of good jobs that we can be proud of and supporting another critical sector of our economy. With that i would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much, mr. Willis. First let me say i appreciate all the testimony that you provided. Very interesting and helpful. I also want to acknowledge appreciation for the fact that you, in addition to testifying here today, you and your colleagues and your associations are working very carefully with us and closely with us. We appreciate that. We want to get this right and we want to get it done. My first question will be much more of a statement, that i ask you make sure you acknowledge. It will not surprise you it will focus on rural needs in transit. Often when folks think aboutbout mass transit, they think about heavily populated areas. As has been so well indicated by a couple of you, this is a huge issue and Rural Communities as well. I was interested, mr. Mckenna, about your statistics about the Safety Record in rural areas and mr. Ebola, your story about the lady who cried because she was given access to so much more than we often take for granted in our lives is critical. One of the focuses that i have, i just want to ask if you could just acknowledge that we really need to strengthen and expand our focus on rural areas, as we deal with our transit issues in this country. Mr. Chairman, certainly. We embrace entirely what you described and certainly our colleagues here in particular scott bogren, we work very closely together. We have common interest. The very largest authorities. New york, also some very small systems. The issue of rural transportation and Public Transit is critically important. We are committed to that. Our proposal embraces that. Also for significant increase in the historical share to 20 for bus facilities. That is a category in particular that is very helpful to those rural systems. Mr. Mckenna. Yes. Thank you for the question. Missouri operates one of the Largest Networks in the nation. We have transit which has over 800 vehicles and provides Service Throughout the states. Critically important when you look at the rural issues. The ability to age in place gracefully in your home. Access to transit and rural areas helps our communities and the people that live in them do that. We have a really Innovative Program that connects even on the rural basis with Workforce Development geared transit, county transit. Operating a fan pool. Working with the local communities there. Working with manufacturing facilities and they are bringing workers directly to those facilities. Great example of how rural transit is trying to be dynamic in meeting the needs of our citizens. Thank you. Mr. Bogren. Certainly appreciate the emphasis. We have worked with rural Transit Systems. Ive been working with him personally for 30 years. Rural america has changed quite a bit in that. We are looking at regions. Many parts of the country now that have healthcare hand employment, higher ed baird having to go further distances. Our members, they are really focused on outcomes and trying to create these kinds of measurable outcomes, employment, healthcare through what now many people are looking at ondemand mobility. This is a new thing along the rural space. Really has not been the type of population densities to do fixed routes. Talking about other issues like that. Transit is a really great solution. I appreciate that. Do you want to add anything . We recognize Public Transit as a critical component in the rural areas. We are in a Global Economy. I agree with the healthcare and the quality of life issues. We are also in a Global Economy and it is critical that we have a variety of options with our more urban areas and rural areas. That is key with a 21st century. We only have about 30 seconds left. I will make it 20 seconds. Our members on the operating side represent workers across the country both rural and suburban. Obviously in the cities. Supportive of all of the above. Our members are also commuters that serve in all the above communities. I think the emphasis that you point out is absolutely correct. We support it. I appreciate all of you helping me to put an exclamation point on statements. Senator brown. This is an excellent comment. Thank you for big city systems. There are eight in my stay. Thank you for what you do. We were talking about the number of deaths in 2018 i think you said was three. I am asking my staff to look at the number year by year. That is a tremendous argument for mr. Bogren and what he does and rural Transit Systems. As the chairman said, the look of this committee is sort of on the democratic side. A lot of urban systems in the republican side. They have fewer, but we also have a number rural systems in my stay. It matters in minneapolis and los angeles and it matters in western maryland and the iron range, too. Thank you. My staff has also said you work with medicaid. Thank you for that. Thank you for your passion about this. I would ask your organization, ask you to ask your organization to put a little less Political Capital and tax cuts and a little bit more on advocating for infrastructure because i have heard your position and you argued beautifully for that. Sincerely my staff tells me. I see your organization asking for money for infrastructure all the time but not putting what they put behind asking for tax cuts and deregulation in getting people on board to actually fund Public Transit. Thank you for your advocacy always. Good to have you back. Let me start with you. The cleveland rta entire fleet of railcars is more than 34 years old and needs replaced. They are struggling to come up with a plan to pay for a new fleet. What happens when they operate vehicles that have exceeded their service life like that . It is unfortunate. It is not an isolated incident. There are many facing very similar circumstances. What happens is really quite simple. Costs go up and reliability goes down. Ridership suffers. The analogy is most apropos for our automobiles. An automobile 20 years old and that is what you are using, you are paying a lot more to keep it in running condition. It is out of service often. Your reliability goes down. Falling behind in its Infrastructure Investment needs. We have seen that really turned the corner. Making that investment. We are seeing ridership increase 4 yeartoyear growth. That relationship is very clear. Cost increase reliability goes down ridership suffers. Thank you. My Opening Statement about columbus introducing new routes route since our ridership go up significantly. I assumed cleveland because of the aging of that fleet. I would assume it would have much more ridership. No question about that. Mr. Willis, the fda is not active on the rulemaking on assault by the fast act, as you know. Our safety plan sufficient to mitigate all safety further action required on certain issues like operator assault. Well, thank you, senator. Yes. I do t needed geared as we discussed earlier in my Opening Statement, we were able to work with you and others to make sure that the fast act we had a federal mandate to deal with driver assaults. Unfortunately, that has gone on and implemented. Mplented. The fda put a document out last year that simply said that assaults could be considered in the context of the Public Transportation Safety Agency plans, but did not really direct or require them to take any specific actions. I should note within that docket we filed comments asking to deal with the driver assault as part of the safety plans and they said they would do a separate rulemaking which now they are saying they will not do. Very frustrating. At a minimum, there needs to be a worker voice. As part of the safety plans making sure that we can work with management. Making sure that we are getting real data. That is part of the problem under the current regime is that very little of this actual assault data is getting reported the right way because it has to be a serious injury, result in an arrest. A lot of those fall outside of that. We do not have a scope of the problem. We are not talking to workers on the front line. I think through this plan you can do that and hopefully deal with that issue. Thank you. Senator menendez. Thank you for convening this meeting here today. In churning the longterm viability of our Transit Systems is a critical opponent of addressing our broader needs as a nation. Transit systems are an economic driver for our communities generating 4 of economic returns for every dollar invested and created over 50,000 jobs for every billion dollars we invest. While i have always supported funding, we need a place that same emphasis on our Transit Systems. It cannot be an afterthought. As a Ranking Member of the subcommittee i hope that the subcommittee can begin to engage more on this issue and that this is the beginning of a robust process that results in a transit title for the fast act reauthorization we can all be proud of. Mr. Mortimer, let me start with you. The northeast corridor producing 20 of our nations gdp. A shutdown would cost the economy an estimated 100 million a day according to amtrak. The rail tunnels under the hudson river that currently connect new jersey to penn station in new york and nearly 110yearold bridge the entire northeast corridor dire need of repair and replacement. The Gateway Program would replaces this aging infrastructure and make other improvements that serves over 200,000 daily new Jersey Transit in amtrak passenger trips on approximately 450 turns. Do you believe that gateway is a nationally significant project while tilt to the continued viability of the northeast corridor. Senator, there is no doubt that the gateway corridor is a key project that not just effects north new jersey, the whole eastern seaboard. We believe that there is a federal component about that. We certainly want to see all stakeholders come together to address that issue. The longer we wait, the more it will cost. I want to defend the u. S. Chamber of commerce. We have advocated extremely hard for infrastructure as equally hard as we have for tax relief. Our ceo tom donohue, i dare any senator to say there is not an advocate more for Investment Infrastructure than tom donahue. We have been out there for years we really do care about infrastructure. I am glad to hear that. I did not raise that question, but i assume someone else did. You are taking my time in order to do that. Let me move on. Do you believe that the federal government has an Important Role to play in the funding of such nationally significant things. Senator, ideal. Mortimer reiterated. There is no question about the importance of that investment. The merit that it does have. We are very supportive. We think it should be included or federal funding and something that we want to see move forward. A project that will have a Ripple Effect across the northeast corridor. Can you speak to the impact that it will have on your members as well as having federal engagement on transportation projects that have a National Economic impact. Thank you, senator. When you talk to our members who have to operate the train through those tunnels, that have to maintain the signal systems, electrical systems, retail horror stories. We have a big problem on our hand. You know the economic consequences of shutting down the tunnel and reducing capacity by 75 . There is a real problem right now going on in their that needs to be addressed. Hardened that the administration change the rating for portal bridge north. Disappointed they did not do the same for the tunnel itself. The cost recently has been reduced by 1. 4 million. Amtrak is kicking in several hundred Million Dollars. The percentage has been reduced again. This project is ready. We help the administration sees fit to approve it and get it funded in the right way. Thank you. A pta recommendation for surface you recommended codifying the risk loans that should be used as a nonfederal share of a project which is common sense considering that these loans will have to be paid back by the project sponsors. The gateway project ran into this issue with the Current Administration counting financing which must be paid back as part of the federal share of the project. We fought to include language in recent appropriation bills to prevent this policy from taking effect. Why is it important that Transit Systems have access to a wider array of financing tools and that these loans which again must be paid back as a nonfederal share. I think it is critically important that the Public Transit industry be able to exercise a full view of all the tools that it can leverage to implement these major projects. The idea of the loans and riff loans being considered as federal financing really goes to an argument that we think does not hold water. We believe the loans to be paid back by local dollars are indeed local share and should be considered as such. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Let me thank the chairman and the Ranking Member for holding this clearly important discussion we should be working on in a bipartisan way to really invest in our Transportation Network and infrastructure. I am hopeful that we carry this out the regular order and there will be a markup and banking at some point in time. I appreciate the bipartisan support, chairman, that you have brought to this. Thank you. Let me start with an issue we are dealing with nevada. Affordable housing. In many places in nevada, as well as throughout the country, we are seeing challenges within our housing sector. I have been working to find ways to help us better consider our Affordable Housing and economic job centers within transportation planning. I guess my question to you is can you speak to the possibility and existing dynamics on how we lay out our roads and Transit Systems and where those that need it live and work. In other words, should we be planning and how do we incentivize at the federal level that type of local planning when they are looking at their Transit Systems and they should be incorporating that Affordable Housing or housing Key Initiative as well. I would love your comments on that. Thank you, senator. In missouri, we see that same issue. In many cases what we find is some of our communities, particularly ringing the outer edge of our major metropolitan areas like st. Louis and kansas city. In some places we have areas where the Housing Stock and the people that live in them, the affordability is a difficult issue. Also, the access to issues is a difficult issue. In some parts just outside of st. Louis, we have upwards of 1015 of households that dont have access to vehicles. When we are doing major reconstruction and that is mostly what we are planning right now, we are just about to embark on reconstructing a major part of interstate 270. That reinvestment there, we are considering transit work. We are adding a transit lane to connect to it a transit stop. We are trying to add more pedestrian crossings and others. I think it is critical to keep in mind, consider, this is what we work with the Regional Planning commissions that we do consider the time and the cost connecting the housing with where people are working and where they are seeking medical treatment and where they are grocery shopping, for goodness sakes. That is a critical part of what we are trying to incorporate in. I think it is a great point and needs to be more the discussion. The partnership between the federal government, states and those planning and the local communities is critical. It is true. Clearly the zoning happens at the local level. Transit commissions that we work with. Should we be doing a better job at the federal level incentivizing that connection to Affordable Housing as they move through that zoning piece for transit at the local level . Can we do a better job at the local level . I think theres a great deal more that can be done. Our transit agencies are doing more in terms of planning their facilities, their new investments along the lines of transit oriented developments. That is really evolved to discussing transit oriented communities. Lets make the investments with an idea in mind how we can best serve our residents making sure they have availability of Public Transit or at the very least have walkable actions for transit facilities. A growing trend within agencies to take that very aggressiveckoe communities. I think there can be more that can be done. Dod socalled grants. I think that is the way to do it. Our agencies are very receptive to that planning. Transit is very critical for livable transit communities. More aggressive about adapting to and embracing these technologies, thats happening all over the country. Thats one of the reasons why we want to keep bringing attention to new innovations happening, new partnerships evolving, new forms of transit, sometimes complementing tncs, other sides looking how we can develop new Services Like micromobility, transit options. Technology is driving it and the Public Transit industry is very receptive to that in making advancements. It is an exciting future we have across the board transportation but also in Public Transit. Thank you. Senator, i think thats a critical component to replacing the Rolling Stock that exists. You know, if were looking at many transit agencies that have aging stock, being able to replace that and update with newer technologies that you are seeing in automobiles right now. The collision prevention systems, the back up systems that have automatic braking, this can improve safety dramatically. And just make sure that our operators have an easier time navigating through congested roadways. Thank you. Thank you very much. Senator . Thank you, senator brown. I want to thank you and the chairman for having this hearing, thank all of you for your testimony. Im a big supporter of moving forward as quickly as possible with this reauthorization. I also serve on the environment committee, and we have already passed unanimously the highway portion of this bill, so im hopeful that this committee will achieve the same consensus in moving forward with the transit portion. Of course funding is the key missing element. Weve got to come up with an increased more robust Funding Source. Many of us have put forward proposals over the years, and my challenge to people who dont support one of those is come up with another funding proposal, and lets get bipartisan support for it so we can move forward. We have been deadlocked on something that has broad support throughout the country, for a long time because of that. Thank you for mentioning that we have seen a 4 increase in ridership. I think thats a result of the many improvements that were made. We took a timeout which created some inconvenience but as a result we have seen an up tick thats of course the nations metro. 40 of the federal workforce travels in peak hours on our metro system. We are grateful for the federal contribution to that system. 150 Million Dollars a year. The surrounding states have been meeting their shares. In fact, they have changed their laws and were to comply. I was pleased to see the Trump Administration include funding this year for that. But i would just say to mr. Chairman and the committee, senator warner and i and senator cardin and senator kane have introduced legislation to extend the authorization for that and both increase the investment but also increase some of the provide some reforms and provide a little more oversight in the process. I hope we can fold that into this legislation. Mr. Willis, thank you for mentioning the transit workforce safety bill that weve introduced. I hope we can also fold that into this reauthorization effort, and i just want to focus for a minute, you gave a great sort of story about the woman in West Virginia, who was able to finally get out and about because of Public Transit. One of the challenges we continue to face is the first mile, last mile issue. Right . We have these great Transportation Networks, but we also know that when we find ways to get people from that first mile from their home to transit, we can dramatically increase it and improve quality of life for people, so as we look at this reauthorization, im interested in your perspectives on how we can as a federal government create more incentivize first and last mile links. In maryland we have a Pilot Project going on, in montgomery county, the county has this kind of uberlike system, where they are beginning to take people back and forth, those components of the trip, but im interested in your thoughts on how we can expand those efforts. I live in germantown, and i take a rideon bus to the metro every morning, so im very familiar with the first and last mile trips in montgomery county. One of the ways that a lot of smaller communities and smaller systems are looking at is using volunteer drivers and providing incentives to have folks that are recently retired or looking to kind of give back into the community, particularly, you know, im thinking western maryland, the eastern shore, these areas, this is a real resource that we need to tap into, and thats one way to do it. And then the other thing is really to focus first mile last mile around outcomes. Whats the purpose . Are we feeding fixed routes which is a good outcome . But there are some times when were forcing folks into fixed routes that are just not the way they want to travel, and so i think along with kind of the traditional getting someone into the system, our short trips that are healthcare related, human and social service related, that we can do a much better job of, technology is a big piece, and all these things, asking the customers what they want. Appreciate it. Any other thoughts . Yes. Senator, one of our proposals as part of our reauthorization recommendations is a new category of mobility innovation and technology. Its specifically to do the kinds of things talking about here. Right now theres a lot of experimentation going on with Pilot Programs all across the country of our agencies so they are being very aggressive. They are very modest. They are learning going forward. We believe there needs to be an infusion of more resource there so that the agencies can take a bit more risk, try some additional things, expand the scale of some of their demonstration projects and they come in all forms. It could be a fixed route system. It could be a tnc in partnership with the agency. It could be a micro mobility project, but we need to accelerate that work. We believe the federal government does have an interest here to help that process along. Appreciate it. Any others . Yes, senator, one of the things we find from an operator perspective is even very basic construct creating flexibility between operating and capital accounts. Through the Grant Management process, if our transit operators had more flexibility to convert, they could do things to expand service hours, get there on a more flexible basis that they are really not able to afford today. But if they managed that and had the flexibility through the federal program, that could very well help that. Thank you, appreciate it. Thank you all. Senator smith . Thank you, mr. Chair, and also Ranking Member brown, and i also really appreciate the bipartisan effort here. I dont completely see it here, but i know it exists. [laughter] [inaudible]. Yes, exactly. Thank you mr. Chairman. You are welcome. When i was lieutenant governor, i did a lot of work on transportation issues, and, you know, certainly a lot of it in big cities and cities the size of duluth, minnesota and st. Cloud, minnesota, but also cities the size of marshall and worthington, smaller communities and then rural areas, and so i appreciate what both senators said about how this is an issue that isnt just a rural issue or an urban issue, enthe one thing i remember and the one thing i remember the most hearing from all those county commissioners that i talked to who were trying to address transit and transportation issues is we need the federal government to be a good partner on the funding side of this, and we can sort of talk about this, but until were ready to kind of put our money where our mouth is on this, were just going to be talking about it. So i hope that we can come together around this. I understand this is a policy committee, but this is what i hear so much about, and so let me just dive in on one thing related to that, and maybe i will direct this question to mr. Bogran. The department of transportation recently solicited comments for their routes initiative, which is about providing transit opportunities in rural areas, and, you know, what i hear from a lot of my Rural Communities in minnesota is that while this federal transportation funding is really important, for a Small Community to try to come up with a matching fund that are required, it is like its like a devilish choice because like we want to help you, but we dont possibly have the tax base or the population to be able to support those matching dollars. And were talking about places where people are a long way from the nearest hospital, working people who want to work but dont have i mean, it doesnt work. Could you address that issue . I would appreciate your thoughts on that. Certainly, and i appreciate the question. Yes, this is a real challenge for rural Transit Systems. Youve got managers of these systems that often times maybe drive the vehicle in the afternoon and then spend most of their evenings going to many of the small towns in their region hoping to get a thousand dollars just to do exactly what youre talking about, and all the work that goes into that. One of the things that we have called for in our plan is to be able to take into account poverty levels and the lack of healthcare. As rural hospitals are moving further and further, it is hard for folks on the east coast to know to understand that in many parts of the country, you may have a two f h hour drive to twohour drive to the nearest dialysis clinic. Right that lack of healthcare is measured and where we have that along with certain poverty rates, were calling for lower matching rates for those Rural Communities, for that reason. Id also echo what mr. Mckenna had to say about operating versus capital. Operating is critical to these systems, and any flexibility on that is also really helpful. Would you like to answer too . Senator, i would. Maybe a different perspective as well. Certainly the need for service for the rural areas is critically important, as weve been discussing. There another aspect that gets often overlooked, and that is the jobs, the job availability. Uhhuh. While a community a small area, a small system, a small city may not have a large Transit System in place, they often are the creators or recipients of the jobs that the industry produces. A case in point is anniston, alabama, where they build and manufacture buses, smaller community, but critically important in terms of the job creation, and we have developed a set of schematics that we would be happy to share with you that show how the supply chain really touches all aspects of the country, in all 50 states, many communities that may not have a large role in Public Transit in terms of Service Delivery, but have the jobs that are supporting the industry. It is a critically important piece. Absolutely. New flyer has a big and very important facility in st. Cloud, minnesota. Not as good as ours. [laughter] we can collaborate on this, doug. [laughter] i just have a couple minutes left, but i would like to ask mr. Willis something. Another thing that we hear about in minnesota is sometimes the challenges recruiting and retaining and training workers in transit and transportation. Could you just address what we might be able to do to address that issue . Well in addition to providing a safe workplace. Well, absolutely, and youre very familiar with that. Theres issues in your state. Yeah. But in terms of training the workers, i would say a couple of things. We call for in our testimony a National Training Transit Center to deal with the needs of front line workers. This committee already funds, which focuses more on the whitecollar workforce. We support that, but currently, theres no Training Center that meets the needs of the front line workers that we know are out there. In the last appropriations bill, there was 2. 5 Million Dollars included in those bills for these types of activities. That effort was supported by labor but also by atfa and others around at this table, so i think those are sort of concrete things that you can do, both on your appropriations side and in the authorizing context, putting a Training Center in place i this i think is a very good step thank you. Senator jones . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here today. I really appreciate it. This really would be to thank you for the shoutout of anniston, we are proud of new flyer, and electric buses which they make which i think is a growing demand as well. In december of last year, the city of birmingham launched a new transportation micro transit Pilot Program. Birmingham on demand is as an on demand shared ride service with a fleet of vans, can accommodate six passengers. It is wheelchair accessible. It complements and extends our Public Transportation, for select areas of the city and focuses on increasing and improving connections for work, education, entertainment venues, all for a flat rate of about 1. 50. That obviously i would like to ask you, how those kinds of things can help alleviate some of the Public Transportation concerns with the first and last mile, but also can those programs how best can we expand those into rural areas . Ive got a lot of rural areas. I know thats a big issue for everybody on this panel. How can we expand those kinds of micro transit Pilot Programs into rural areas . I will open it up, and whoever can best answer. Senator, just for my part, i think that what you have described again is something that is occurring across our industry in cities all across the u. S. , looking for new options, how can we deliver more services in places perhaps that have not had it before or to do it more efficiently . So i think that has great potential. We would like to see a special funding category, mobility innovation and technology within reauthorization that would encourage and help fund these activities because communities on their own really are limited in terms of the kind of risk they can take but i think the federal government does have a role to accelerate that investment, accelerate that experimentation, and we think that would be the most appropriate way to do it. Right, yes, sir . Thanks for the question. I think it is important. In Rural Communities, in birmingham, you can put Something Like this together and just kind of lay it out there for the general public, theres enough population to do that. In Rural Communities, the similar process needs to take place but with more specific outcomes in mind. For instance, we have got a project that were working on with some of our members in West Virginia to put these types of systems together to deal specifically with opioid recovery and treatment. Weve got a project in oklahoma that is doing similarly with trying to improve performance in the foster care system. I think thats the key as you get to smaller communities. Youve got to have it focused. You have to have the conversation with the community about what would you like to achieve but for a lack of transportation youre not getting there . And youll get all sorts of answers back to that, and then you finetune these concepts that are out there to deal with that specific issue. All right, great. Thank you for that. Real quick, briefly, i want to make sure we get on the record here, how important the census is to counting everyone in these communities, especially the Rural Communities. Can Somebody Just for the record here talk about that again because im trying to push that in my state everywhere, every opportunity i can . Anybody . Okay. [laughter] yeah, please. Weve had a lot of conversations with our members about that at our annual conference. We have sessions because the census when it comes to drawing lines around communities for urbanized and rural areas, when it comes to the counts, it is always a concern. You get a rural area that suddenly finds itself part of a and the different rules that have to apply. Every ten years this kind of changes the whole landscape for a lot of the way we fund Public Transportation. Is there any information for the census that needs to be updated to more accurately reflect mass Transit Needs for Rural Communities that yall know of . And you can get back to me. Senator, i mean, obviously the census and the population numbers drive the formulas for distribution of the urban and the rural funds. So critically important that weve got the best information we can get, make sure that were not neglecting the proper counts and they drive the formulas. Okay. Last thing, mr. Mortimer, i wasnt here earlier on, so i dont know what all was said about the infrastructure versus tax cuts. But im probably a little bit more chamber friendly than most folks over here, and i would invite you to come to the office because in alabama we have a real serious need for infrastructure, but were also very concerned about ballooning deficits that are in part caused by that tax bill. I would love to have a dialogue about what we can do from the stand point to try to balance those two so we can get more infrastructure in the state of alabama and across the country. Thank you. Senator, i would be glad to. Im going down to mobile to talk about the i10 bridge because i know thats a critical bridge project. Well, jump in that frying pan. [laughter] i know, but there needs to be some solutions to get it done. It is badly needed there and were happy to help. Thank you. Senator . Thank you to our witnesses for being here and thank you mr. Chairman. Last year Maricopa County saw two important public developments. There was federal approval to expand our light rail into South Phoenix which is a 26 mile rail line which connects arizona across phoenix tempe and mesa. They then received the federal funding needed to complete construction of a 3 mile extension of the light rail that will further link downtown tempe and eventually Arizona State universitys tempe campus with the greater phoenix area. I have supported both projects since my time in the house. Maricopa county is the fastestgrowing county in the nation, and we face a growing Public Transit challenge that must be met with Smart Investments and effective longterm planning. Transit projects like light rail guarantee more people can get to where they want to go. Thank you for being here. Valley metro was able to build the tempe streetcar through a combination of private investors, Arizona State university, local Government Funds and funding from the federal transit administrations Capital Investment Grant Program. What steps can Congress Take to encourage similar Public Private partnerships in the Capital Investment Grant Program . Thank you for your question. Im very familiar with phoenix and the Great Success they have had including the initial 20 miles of start up line which exceeded its ridership expectations and i think by last count has generated something close to 10 billion dollars in private investment. I think the process the cig Capital Investment program that exists is so important. It does allow cities, communities that are growing to tap an investment category of funding to advance their projects. What were finding is that more and more developers, private interest, recognize that importance. Just to cite the example that we all know, amazon located their facilities in close connection to transit. And so what is happening is theres a greater recognition that that marriage between and the investment and private investment is there. I think the Capital Investment grant category does provide some means to encourage that. We could see that being accelerated through some of the tod planning work that can feed into that process as well. I think thats a key piece. While again local municipalities control that process more so than the transit agencies, that is one way that it can be encouraged through this planning process and through the grant process. Excellent, thank you. You know, Public Transit isnt just an economic issue for arizona, it is also a health issue because, you know, having a great doctor doesnt count if you cant make it to your appointment. We believe that good Public Transit can make it easier for all to see a doctor and get access to essential health and wellness services. Healthcare costs are too high and the shortage of doctors, nurses and other Healthcare Professionals throughout our state only makes it worse. So for many, especially seniors, veterans and those who have Chronic Health conditions, the healthcare related transportation costs can be prohibitively expensive. The good news is that programs such as the ftas coordinated access and probably Pilot Program and grants provide people a safe and affordable ware to get to their doctor. Safe and affordable way for them to get to their doctor. How can we strength p these programs to make sure all americans can access and afford quality healthcare . I think its critical. You know, we see that with our members. We are having very productive conversations with the Healthcare Industry because were starting to learn how they measure. And some of those measurements equate to real economic impact, the things that they focus on, reducing noshows and the cost of the noshow versus the cost of the trip to make sure that doesnt happen. Er readmits and the penalties that a lot of Healthcare Facilities face, we can reduce those. Improper use of ambulances, when we dont need an ambulance at 500 a trip, versus our services that can do that much more inexpensively, and lastly, timely discharge, i think all of those things can really speak to the importance and its nice to see that healthcare is looking to us now to provide these services for them. Yes, senator, thats a great question. You know, at the federal level, we would ask congress to really consider making sure that federal Agency Funding in programs specifically the 5310 and 5311 program that serve people with disability and seniors as well as in Rural Communities are flexible enough to Work Together so that they dont restrict passengers by trip purpose. Thats a critical aspect as we try to be flexible enough to meet the demands of the population. Senator, what i would add to that is given whats been said is simply increasing the level of investment in Public Transportation will go a long way to helping that. Communities can then figure out how best to meet that, whether its a fixed route system, a doortodoor demand response system, but more than 45 of our american citizens dont even have access to any Public Transportation. So we have been an industry thats been underserved for decades in terms of investment. So increasing that investment as were asking for here and calling for with the reauthorization would be a major step forward. More service, more expanded opportunities, whether its bus Rapid Transit in the community or whether its light rail, whatever it might be, those are the resources that are necessary for communities to help make those decisions how best to meet their citizens needs. Thank you. Thank you mr. Chairman and Ranking Member brown for holding this hearing. It is a very important topic for my community. Thanks. Thank you. Senator warner . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Im going to cover some ground that my colleague senator van hollen covered. We need to talk about metro. I think the senator already mentioned in many ways the federal government literally runs on metro. I think it was pointed out that close to 40 of metros riders during rush hour are federal employees, and that is critically important to the functioning of our government. Also serves a critically Important Role in terms of continuation of government in the event of a disaster, ever have deal with evacuation similar to what we dealt with post 9 11, the burden falls on metro, as well as the fact this is the nations metro system. It is obviously used on a regular basis by tourists who always come to washington or its absolutely critical in National Events like inaugurations. Back in 08, congress put together and recognized this, in the legislation back then and laid out a ten year, 150 Million Dollars a year commitment from the federal government to washingtons metro, to make sure that we would have that longterm investment in the safety and viability of the system. At that moment, there was also a request for the local jurisdictions, d. C. , maryland, and virginia to step up and do more. Those local jurisdictions have stepped up and done more. They have committed an additional 500 Million Dollars 500 Million Dollars to make sure metro can have the safe efficient system that the region needs, but our country needs as well. So as probably been mentioned along with senator van hollen, senator cardin and kaine and i have put in another tenyear reauthorization of metro with those 150 Million Dollars a year. Im happen to see that the administration this year im happy to see the administration this year has gone ahead and put forward in the president s budget that 150 Million Dollars, but we do need this tenyear authorization. Im looking forward to working on this committee and with members on both sides of the aisle and thank the chairman and Ranking Member for their willingness to listen on this. It is critical that it gets done this year. Have i forgotten anything in terms of my description of the importance that metro plays to the National Capital area and frankly as the nations metro system . Senator, thank you. No i would simply say i would tell you as someone who has been in this industry for 40 years and has been on the operating side as well, we have a marvelous system, in the district and beyond. Were very fortunate to have that, but it underscores the importance of keeping up with the investment needs that it has. Otherwise we suffer as we have over the last several years with delays, with breakdowns, with really unreliable service. I think the corner has been turned on that in good measure, in large part because of the investment thats coming. Theres no short cut to getting to where we need to go. And really washington, d. C. Is not the only example. We can go to new york, chicago, San Francisco not in my five minutes. [laughter] we have a great need. And be the first to acknowledge that as one of the newest systems in our country, i think for a long time. You know we coasted without putting appropriate maintenance in, and as we have seen in the last decade literally, we have seen the failure to continue to reinvestment in that maintenance, and i think the system is turning the corner, but that continued federal commitment must be maintained. The local jurisdictions have stepped up in a level that frankly i wasnt sure they were going to step up, they have. We do need the tenyear reauthorization. I know we have been working with the chairman for sometime on this issue. I dont agree with this administration on a number of things but i was happy to see the president put that good faith 150 Million Dollars down, but weve got to have that predictability. Local jurisdictions have stepped up. The federal government couldnt function without metro. The federal government has got to do its share. My hope is that we can see that passed this year. I have only one and i will allow the other members to raise the other great metro systems around the country. One issue i want to just briefly touch with mr. Mortimer. One of the other areas in virginia where we have enormous transportation challenges is the i 81 corridor. It is not necessarily a Public Transit issue, but with the amount of traffic and commerce that flows for the whole east coast on 81, and the level of bottlenecks, the level of safety concerns, i know with the chambers interest, the bill Grant Programs, you have been supportive of these efforts. I have got a legislation with senator blount that would put additional financing tools in place, but if you could speak to that in the remaining seconds, i would appreciate it. Sure, senator, im aware of that effort. I know a lot of our chambers in the region have tried to work with other leaders to figure it out. It is shared responsibility, federal, state and local. There needs to be a solution. We have been talking about it for too long. We certainly are convincing our chambers and we recognize its not just a virginia issue. Its broader than that, and so thats where the federal investment is needed, and so we hopefully that can get done in the near future. Were proud of the fact we have both chamber support, labor support and others on the i 81 corridor and we hope we can get to a solution. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator warner. Senator brown has another question, and it looks like we may actually finish just in time for the votes on the floor. So senator brown . Thank you again for the good answers from all five of you and the discussions. Starting mr. Willis, right to left, if thats okay, there appears to be consensus within transit to significantly expand both the bus and bus Facilities Program and the low or no Emission Vehicle program, the low no programs funding for mass transit accounts less of 1 5 of the size of the larger competitive bus program. I supported the doubling the size of the low no program and the fast act. The program supported fuel cell buses in places like canton ohio and Battery Electric Buses in columbus, largest county and lake county and urban suburban counties. As fleets are converted to zero emission technologies, should the share of low no funding increase in the next reauthorization . Either yes or no or something briefly, if you can. Yes, with the caveat that again we have real needs as we transition to the buses. When we manufacture the vehicles, lets make sure we are doing procurement policy right, not only buying them here in america but making sure there are good jobs on the manufacturing side thank you. Yes. Thank you. Yes, but for smaller operators, there arent a lot of electric buses available yet. And so were only buying 30 and 40 foot buses right now. Okay. Mr. Mckenna. I agree with that comment. Flexibility in procurement is important particularly in the smaller operators yes, we proposed in our reauthorization proposal a tripling of the investment level. Okay, thank you. Thank you. And again to each of you, we appreciate your testimony, taking your time to be here and the work you are putting in to help us get this to the right place. It is as you can see, a very important and critical issue, and we do intend to move forward and get it resolved. For senators who wish to submit questions for the record, those questions are due on tuesday, march 3, and i encourage each of the panelists if you get extra questions to respond as promptly as you can. Again, thank you all for being here today, and the hearing is adjourned. Thank you. [inaudible conversation] this afternoon members of the Coronavirus Task force headed by Vice President mike pence will give an update on the spread of the virus, live at 3 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. You can also watch online at cspan. Org or listen with the free cspan radio app. Sunday night, on q a, Peggy Wallace kennedy, daughter of former four term alabama governor and president ial candidate George Wallace talks about her fathers controversial career and what inspired her to write her book the broken road. Back in 96, we took our youngest son who was 9 at the time to the Martin Luther king museum, historical site in atlanta. And we went to his church and to his grave, and then we went over to the museum. It was being newly constructed at that time. And we were going to [inaudible]. We came to the alabama exhibit. And it showed the Edmund Pettus bridge, the baptist church, fire hoses and dogs in birmingham and George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door. And my son looked up at me and he said, he was so sad, why did pa do those things to other people . And it broke my heart. And i said papa never told me why he did those things to other people, but i know he was wrong, so maybe it will just have to be up to you and me to help make things right. Watch sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. Administrator Andrew Wheeler and scott turner of the white house opportunity and revitalization council addressed the conservative Political Action conference last week, spoke about opportunity zones and Workforce Development. How are you all doing, cpac . Good, good, thank you all for joining us for an important conversation. Gentlemen, ive been going across the country with fox news talking with minority communities, urban communities, that need help. Ive been telling them that with the Trump Administration, the calvary is