CAGTC: Freight Prevails in House Transportation Bill Markup

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Blakey & Agnew

Oct 23, 2015, 00:45 ET

(PRWEB) October 23, 2015 -- WASHINGTON, DC (October 22, 2015) – The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) applauds Chairman Shuster (R-PA), Ranking Member DeFazio (D-OR) and members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for approving the bipartisan Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRRA) during Committee markup.

“Forward movement on this bill demonstrates CAGTC's multimodal freight investment message has been adopted by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee,” said Elaine Nessle, Executive Director of CAGTC. “The Committee’s actions represent a milestone in freight investment and we look forward to working with Congress, the Senate and the Administration to support our national economic competitiveness by increasing the efficiency and capacity of our nation’s multimodal goods movement network.”

In addition to prioritizing critical goods movement infrastructure, the bill includes dependable, unprecedented levels of investment in our national freight network. Among the bill highlights are:

  • Guaranteed investment of $4.46 billion in highway freight infrastructure, including railway-highway crossings and grade separation projects, over a six year period, to be distributed through a competitive grant process, with as much as $500 million available for projects on other modes. A wide variety of state and local governmental entities would be eligible to apply for funding; and
  • Creation of a multimodal freight policy and network that encompass the many modes necessary to moving freight. Improving upon MAP-21’s highway-centric Primary Freight Network, the bill calls for an increase in total mileage from 27,000 to 41,000.

The Senate, Administration, and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have all produced proposals that invest in our nation’s multimodal goods movement network through a competitive grant approach. CAGTC has advocated for a multimodal grant program with broad project and applicant eligibility since its establishment in 2001. We look forward to working with both the House and the Senate to ensure the freight provisions remain intact as the two chambers work towards a bill conference and send legislation to the President’s desk for his signature.

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About the Coalition
The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) is a diverse coalition of more than 60 public and private organizations dedicated to increasing federal investment in America’s intermodal freight infrastructure. In contrast to single mode interests, CAGTC’s main mission is to promote a seamless goods movement transportation system across all modes to enhance capacity and economic growth. For more information on the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors, please visit http://www.tradecorridors.org.

Jeff Agnew, Blakey & Agnew, +1 (202) 828-9100, [email protected]