On the recordNovember 3, 2015
The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program in this bill will address critical infrastructure needs that will improve America's economic competitiveness, but will also bring tremendous benefit to our communities, especially districts like mine, which is the epicenter of the international supply chain flowing through the Ports of L.A. and Long Beach. Freight corridors that run through districts such as mine, and those in Chicago, Houston, Florida, Charleston, New York, New Jersey, and Seattle, bring jobs and spur economic growth. However, they also create congestion, pollution, and safety concerns. One of the primary strategies to alleviate these issues--congestion, air pollution, and accidents--is to build rail grade separations that allow trains and cars to flow freely. In fact, grade separations are explicitly mentioned in the bill as eligible to receive funding from the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program. However, the $100 million threshold far exceeds the cost of most grade separation projects. To better achieve the intent of this bill, my amendment simply clarifies that a program of eligible projects, such as a corridor of grade separations, be eligible to receive funding from this program. There is ample legislative precedent for ``programs of projects'' to be eligible for funding, most notably, in the TIFIA loan program, the National Highway Performance Program, and Highway Safety and Improvement Program.…
