Daniel Inouye: “let me begin by thanking Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee Chairman Trent Lott and Commerce…”

“let me begin by thanking Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee Chairman Trent Lott and Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens for their efforts to develop a consensus, bipartisan bill to reauthorize highway safety and boating safety programs under the Commerce Committee's jurisdiction. Together, with the help of other members of our committee, including Senators Mark Pryor, Jay Rockefeller, Conrad Burns, Byron Dorgan, Frank Lautenberg, and Barbara Boxer, we have crafted legislation that advances the safety of all motorists on our Nation's highways. Our committee considered the Surface Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2005 on April 14 and reported this measure without amendment. Our national highway transportation network is a tremendous national asset and a first-class system. It allows us the freedom to travel and fosters economic growth. The benefits of mobility that our highways provide, however, come with a staggering cost of injury, property destruction, and death. Recent safety trends indicate that the dangers of operating a vehicle on this network are still disturbingly high. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, highway fatalities and injuries increased from 42,643 in 2003 to 42,800 in 2004. Large truck crash fatalities increased by 3.7 percent from 4,986 in 2003 to 5,169 in 2004. To put these numbers in context, the United States suffered more than 58,000 casualities during the entire Vietnam War.…”