James Oberstar

There hasn't been a single earmark either from the House or the Senate.

I have been to 30 States; I have talked to a lot of these governors and DOT folks.

All this stuff that we are reading about is either misrepresentation, deliberately or through lack of knowledge...

I wrote it into the law. I insisted on it in House-Senate conference and it is in the law that the President signed.

In our authorization bill, we listened to the various transit agencies across the Country who are concerned about their operating expense and their capital account.

In our surface transportation authorization bill we do exactly that, we provide the means, the structural means by which we can be intermodal.

It was Mr. Cummings, Mr. Secretary, who was the inspiration for the bonding idea based on a prior experience with the State of Maryland.

The State DOTs select the projects.

The USDOT does not make those decisions of which projects.

I do want to raise the issue that was highlighted in a USA Today news story that I already commented on.

That number is 123,000 in direct jobs as the end of September created on highway and bridge and transit projects, and another 80,000 in the supply chain for 200,000.

We are going to advance this process and cut from 14 years to 3 years the time it takes to do a transit project.

We turn it on its side and have them all provide authority for all of the permitting entities to act concurrently, rather than consecutively.

But we are going to fix that in this next legislation, and that is why we need to get it done in the next three months, and not 18 months.

I would point out, and I appreciate the gentleman raising that, in our surface transportation authorization bill we restructure the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration to include within them an Office of…

This is the vision of President Obama and Vice President Biden to get America into the high speed passenger rail business.

We require in the law that priority be given to highway and transit projects and wastewater treatment projects, to areas of highest unemployment.

We look forward to that miracle happening.

Their employment has increased 40 percent because of recovery, even with this layoff.

The cutbacks by, for example, City of Chicago and a few others, have been in their regular program, not in stimulus program, bus acquisitions.

A concern that has come up is that States and cities, because of drop-off in revenue, have not been able to provide the matching funds for the transit projects.

You have done a superb job as Secretary.

I don't know who it was, but all it takes is one to object in that body.

Your advocacy for more investment in areas of greatest need is provided for and required in the Act.

The only thing that is up is the stimulus money, and all of the funds are going out according to plan.