James Oberstar

The transformational vision for passenger rail service in the United States takes teamwork and focus from all.

The Recovery Act has energized working people and companies of all sizes.

The way we are going, in terms of our deficit and national debt is not sustainable.

We need to turn that on its side and get everybody in the permitting room at the beginning of the project.

The Recovery Act language from our Committee was very specific that the Recovery Act funds, which are 100 percent funding, should be in addition to the program of projects the States had committed to undertake prior to enactment of the…

I am personally offended by that.

They actually said we could only spend out at a rate of 2.4 percent. They were wrong.

If States don't use their funds in the 90 days, they can lose it to States that are ready.

That is why we moved yesterday in this Committee on a new authorization.

We don't want job substitution. We don't want project substitution. It is just going to be net new jobs created.

I am confident that this program is off to a fast and a good start.

Somewhere along the line the environmental issues are going to have to be addressed.

That is a great result, just like the bridge in Minneapolis.

We understand that by September 11th the requests will remain at $2.3 billion and the revenue available in the Trust Fund to be disbursed by Treasury will be $1.6 billion.

I was somewhat disappointed that, over the past five years, actually, four years of implementation of the SAFETEA legislation, that few States actually used that language that I crafted at great labor.

In the early going, we are putting an emphasis on getting our funds obligated because, as Chairman Oberstar pointed out, we have an obligation deadline where 50 percent of the funds to 297 grantees needing must be obligated by September…

It is impossible for a department of transportation and our colleagues in the industry like Oldcastle... to plan and for us to give them data and information that prepares them for future work when we don't know about the status of our…

Thank you very much for that wealth of detail. I appreciate your presentation.

In our legislation, we create a council on intermodalism, an undersecretary for intermodalism, require the modal administrators to meet monthly to develop a national strategic investment policy, a national safety policy, and to oversee the…

Well, I raised that question because the time is coming fairly soon, in the next six, eight months, that we will be at the peak of investment and contracts will have been committed to the total sum of that $27 billion.

It is astonishing to me that Hong Kong built an airport in the ocean, 600 meters of ocean depth.

The American people will understand that.

As I said many, many times, safety begins in the corporate board room.

Mr. Chairman, may I just observe what a storehouse of knowledge we just heard from the gentleman from Ohio and his experience in military aircraft and icing.

Thank you for holding this hearing, Mr. Chairman, your continuing vigilance over aviation safety and the tight rein you are holding on government--and accountability on government agencies and on the airlines themselves.