On the recordNovember 3, 2015
I thank Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, and the chairmen and ranking members of the subcommittees for their excellent work on this. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the certainty, flexibility, and power this legislation gives back to our States, and I look forward to supporting it. I would like to focus on a voluntary, multiple-use program that is in this bill. It is an innovative way to give States more flexibility that is commensurate with the design of this bill. Critical commerce corridors, otherwise known as CCCs, use our existing interstate system to provide for the physical separation of passenger vehicles from commercial motor vehicles, dedicated on-and-off ramps, and freight exchange centers for the movement of freight between and among modes of transportation. These lanes are constructed with a physical separation of passenger and commercial motor freight, and they would be structurally enhanced to handle dedicated freight traffic. This promotes a greater level of safety while making the movement of freight traffic more efficient. Unfortunately, this very definition of ``CCC'' isn't in the bill's language, although committee staff have been working on it in a very bipartisan manner, and I thank them for it. Mr. Chairman, you have heard on multiple occasions what CCCs are. Is this program something that you and other leaders who have worked on this bill can support? I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).
