Press Releases

February 10, 2016

Larsen Opening Statement: “Review of ATC Reform Proposals”

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, the Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, delivered the following statement at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee's hearing, "Review of ATC Reform Proposals." The remarks are as prepared for delivery. Mr. Chairman, thank you for agreeing to hold this hearing and for the opportunity to discuss your legislative proposal to privatize our nation's air traffic control (ATC) system. But before we talk … Continue Reading


February 09, 2016

GAO Report Confirms Air Traffic Control Privatization is High Risk

Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) responded to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that confirmed that a Republican proposal to privatize air traffic control operations would be a high-risk gamble. The report was released on the same day as a hearing on the controversial ATC privatization proposal. "This GAO report … Continue Reading


February 09, 2016

DeFazio, Larsen Question Republican Plan To Privatize Critical Air Traffic Control Operations

Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) questioned a Republican plan that would completely dismantle the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and devolve Federal responsibility for the air traffic control system by handing it over to a private, not-for-profit board of industry interests and businesses. "We have invested tens of billions of … Continue Reading


February 02, 2016

DeFazio, Larsen Oppose Air Traffic Control Privatization Plan

Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) strongly opposed a proposal by Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) that would completely dismantle the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to privatize air traffic control and devolve Federal responsibility for the air traffic control system by handing it over to a private, not-for-profit board of industry … Continue Reading


February 02, 2016

Ranking Member Napolitano Opening Statement at Roundtable on “Building Upon Success: Priorities for the Water Resources Development Act of 2016”

Statement of The Honorable Grace F. Napolitano, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Roundtable on "Building Upon Success: Priorities for the Water Resources Development Act of 2016" Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling together this roundtable on the priorities for a new water resources development act. Today, we have assembled a diverse group of stakeholders representing major cities, industries, and interest groups that directly benefit … Continue Reading


January 20, 2016

DeFazio Pushes DOT to Prioritize Critical Oil Spill Response Plans

Washington, D.C. -Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) pressed Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx on the completion of a critical rule that would better protect communities and emergency responders after toxic crude-by-rail accidents. "Comprehensive oil spill response plans are crucial for adequately preparing Federal, state, local and regional response teams to respond to an accident or incident … Continue Reading


January 06, 2016

DeFazio, Norton Urge DOT to Let States Experiment with Alternative Funding Mechanisms for Highway Trust Fund

Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) urged U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx to quickly make grant funds available to states so they can experiment with alternate ways to finance the Highway Trust Fund in a manner that will provide long-term certainty to state and local governments. In … Continue Reading


January 05, 2016

Top Democratic Transportation Leaders Urge STB to Reject Canadian Pacific Takeover of Norfolk Southern

Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Michael Capuano (D-MA) sent a letter strongly urging the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to reject a potential hostile takeover or acquisition of the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Ltd. (CP). Since late 2015, CP has made several offers to buy NS, … Continue Reading


December 07, 2015

House Passes 5-Year FAST Act to Invest in America’s Surface Transportation Infrastructure

The House of Representatives today overwhelmingly approved the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, five-year legislation to improve America's roads, bridges, public transit, and rail transportation systems and reform federal surface transportation programs. The FAST Act is the bicameral, bipartisan agreement of the House-Senate Conference Committee that was tasked with resolving differences between the surface transportation bills passed earlier this year in the House and … Continue Reading


November 30, 2015

Shuster, Inhofe, DeFazio, Boxer Announce Agreement on Surface Transportation Legislation

The leaders of the House and Senate lead committees working to reach a bicameral, bipartisan agreement on surface transportation legislation released a joint statement today on the Conference Report for the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Statement of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), who is also chairman of the surface transportation bill Conference Committee; Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe … Continue Reading


November 04, 2015

Democratic Conferees Named On Long-Term Surface Transportation Bill

The following members have been named conferees on the multi-year surface transportation bill overwhelmingly approved by the House today. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) U.S. … Continue Reading


November 04, 2015

Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act Receives Overwhelming House Support

Following three days of debate, during which over 100 amendments were considered, the U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan, multi-year surface transportation bill to reauthorize and reform federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs. The Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (the STRR Act) helps improve the Nation's surface transportation infrastructure, refocuses programs on addressing national priorities, provides more … Continue Reading


October 19, 2015

DeFazio Urges ICAO to Ban Transport of Bulk Shipments of Lithium-Ion Batteries on Passenger Aircraft

Washington, D.C. - In a letter to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) pressed the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to call for a ban on transport of bulk shipments of lithium-ion batteries on passenger aircraft at the October 19-30 meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel. In the letter, DeFazio urged DOT to call for a temporary, but absolute ban … Continue Reading


September 29, 2015

HOUSE TRANSPORTATION LEADERS INTRODUCE PTC EXTENSION

Legislation extends deadline for PTC and sets a date certain for full implementation Washington, D.C. - Today, leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure introduced bipartisan legislation to extend the deadline for implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) until 2018. The legislation comes after a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that most U.S. railroads will fail to meet the December 31, 2015 deadline to implement critical, life-saving PTC … Continue Reading


September 20, 2015

DeFazio To Host Earthquake Early Warning System Roundtable with Local, State and Federal Agencies, and Scientists TOMORROW

Washington, D.C. -- Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) will host a roundtable policy discussion tomorrow, September 22, entitled "Earthquake Early Warning in the Pacific Northwest: Preparing for the Big One." The roundtable will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the HEDCO Education Building, Room 230T at the University of Oregon, 1655 Alder Street, Eugene, Oregon. The roundtable will be streamed live at: … Continue Reading


September 15, 2015

DeFazio Responds To Report Finding Railroads Will Fail To Meet Deadline to Implement PTC

Washington, D.C. -- Today, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) responded to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that most U.S. railroads will fail to meet the December 31, 2015 deadline to implement critical, life-saving Positive Train Control (PTC) technology. "Seven years ago, Congress passed legislation that set a deadline for the installation and implementation of Positive Train Control technology to improve safety … Continue Reading


July 27, 2015

DeFazio Introduces Bill to Fund Earthquake Early Warning System for Pacific Northwest

Washington, D.C. -- Today, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced legislation to fund an earthquake early warning system that could save lives, reduce injuries, and mitigate infrastructure damage from the devastating effects of a major quake off the Oregon Coast. "A catastrophic earthquake is not hypothetical. It is a not a question of if an earthquake will happen. It is a question of when. My legislation is pretty simple. It … Continue Reading


May 26, 2015

Rep. Napolitano Praises Administration’s Release of Final Clean Water Act Rule

(Washington, DC) Today, the Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), praised the public release of the final Clean Water Protection rulemaking by the Obama administration. This rulemaking fulfils the requests of members of Congress, state and local officials, industry, agriculture, and environmental organizations to clarify the scope of Clean Water Act protections over our nation's rivers, … Continue Reading


May 18, 2015

Ranking Member DeFazio's Opening Statement at hearing on "Pacific Northwest Seismic Hazards: Planning and Preparing for the next disaster"

Statement of The Honorable Peter DeFazio Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Hearing on “Pacific Northwest Seismic Hazards: Planning and Preparing for the next disaster" May 19, 2015 Thank you, Chairman. I want to welcome all of today’s witnesses and thank them for their testimony. Given recent earthquakes in Nepal and the ensuing catastrophe, this is a very timely and important hearing. In particular, I would like to welcome … Continue Reading


May 18, 2015

DeFazio, T&I Democrats Introduce GROW AMERICA Act to Set Robust Long-Term Surface Transportation Investment Levels

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), together with 19 Committee Democrats, introduced H.R. 2410, the Administration's GROW AMERICA Act, a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill that provides robust funding and sustainable solutions to our Nation's infrastructure crisis. Democrats offered the six-year, $478 billion bill as a framework, to provide Congress with robust investment … Continue Reading

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