Great big mansion if we have the resources to build a hut. And i think that our system right now really needs a substantial injection of a longterm bill but also substantial growth to counteract the cumulative effect of the shortterm measures in the recent past. And one followup real quickly on that specific point. Is there a version of that proposal you are talking about that doesnt have the big tax increase on successful folks as part of it . Because going back to the spirit of my comments, im suggesting that, you know, we get real and we cut to the chase so we actually solve this in a meaningful way by may. So if were just talking about that version, in all due respect, i dont think that is meeting my test. Well, you know, the green book last year published three specific ideas about pro Growth Business tax reform that i think potentially would meet your test. One was eliminating lifo. Another was eliminating accelerated depreciation. And a third one was pulling some of the untaxed
Theres much that we can learn from this 13year experience in how to take a more comprehensive approach, and to recognize while kinetic actions have a value all of their own certainly and thats blatantly obvious, nonkinetic actions do as well. We can do much better at that than what we have done. Thank you. General matt is my time is up, but do you have any you want to add . Very quickly senator i would point out we have to improve the process assuming there is a process. Ive been unable to identify one recently. I think it starts with the assumption we must develop a sound strategy or were going to waste lives and our treasury and our countrys future. I think, too, we need to move thor back to the senate, and not concentrated in a small but mushrooming it at the same time natural security staff that does not have the Foreign Service officers and the trained military officers who can actually develop what you are looking for here. I dont think we can adopt one preclusive form of war far
Again, to do it in a way thats environmentally sensitive. I think we can get that done and actually move the ball forward a bit. Thank you mr. Chairman. En in light of the fact we have governs standing governors standing by. We will wait for them. Thank you. This is an incredibly issue for new york state. Mas mass tras it nearly 8. 5 Million People bride the buses and trains in the city. Would you agree that it is important for them to receive money through the trust fund if congress were to cut funding for Public Transit . Well, absolutely i agree we need to retain resources from mass transit. It is vitally important. Of course in the state of new york and many other parts of the country, theres also a very substantial rurmal program that we have thats also there as well. What would happen is our roadways in high use areas of the country would become inundated with the traffic. Freight movements and would actually stall and that would be a disaster for the country. What we really need
Do. Thank you. Thank you senator. Thank you. We will recognize now senator rounds for his first introduction to this committee and how delighted we are to have him serving on the committee. Thank you mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, thanks for the opportunity to visit with you just a little bit today. Coming from south dakota it strikes me that in our home state, were between 800 and 9 900,000 accept during the time of the Sturgis Rally and then we bump up considerably. It seems like as a former mayor of boston the discussion there in terms of youve had the opportunity to work on transportation projects from a different point of view. A large metro political area and yet one in which youre dealing with the federal guidelines and rules that are required in order to qualify for federal funding. In south dakota dakota we have similar challenges but on an agricultural basis and a rural basis. Just curious as to your thoughts with regards to the projects that as youve indicated earlier in your
It captures the imagination of Real Estate Developers and they start to build dense developments and bring amenities into communities that traditionally may not have them. I think the challenge for us is that right now if we look at the amount of money were putting into transit, i think the demand for it is going to increase substantially over the next several years because of shear population movements. Thats why i would urge a more robust investment in transit, first of all. And secondly urge that we do more to partner with local communities, whether its mpos, or mayors or even governors in some cases to help them develop the tools to utilize the land use opportunities that come about as a result. Yeah, boston had 800,000 people who lived there in 1950s. And it drifted all the way down to about 600,000. But now, with increasing Transit Oriented Development boston has gone back up to 640,000, and the arrow is straight up in terms of the number of people who now want to move back use p