House panel issues freight recommendations

In a rare display of bipartisan functionality on Capitol Hill, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation (Panel) announced Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency of goods movement and strengthening the U.S. economy, involving a multimodal approach.

The panel announced the recommendations in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. D.C.

Almost immediately upon the committee’s recommendations being made public, the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors hailed the action” which include a call to identify a revenue source for freight infrastructure funding, designation of a multimodal freight network, and the sustained continuation of a freight-focused Projects of National and Regional Significance (PNRS) competitive grant program — all policies the Coalition has long promoted.”

The freight panel is chaired by Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.), and includes full Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Transporation Committee Ranking Member Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.).

Among the recommendations made by the panel to Congress were calls to:

1. “Authorize dedicated, sustainable funding for multimodal freight PNRS”;

2. “Establish a national, multimodal freight policy and network”;

3. “Ensure robust public investment in all modes”; and

4. “Explore additional funding mechanisms.”

“I applaud the politically and geographically diverse Members of the Panel, who showed that investing in our nation’s multimodal freight infrastructure is critical to the economic future for all parts of our nation,” said Coalition Founding Chair Mort Downey, a longtime transit veteran. “The Panel’s findings reflect positions our Coalition has championed for many years and we look forward to working with the Panel to ensure their recommendations enjoy the same broad, bipartisan support among all of Congress.”