Top Democrats Push to Hold Enbridge Responsible For Environmentally Disastrous Oil Spill
Washington, D.C. - This week, 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) strongly urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the highest possible penalty on Enbridge Incorporated for a massive 2010 oil spill that destroyed local communities, critical watersheds, and local wildlife. … Continue Reading
March 08, 2016
CBO: Air Traffic Control Privatization Plan Would Increase Deficit by $20 Billion
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its cost estimate of H.R. 4441, the "Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016" (AIRR Act). It determined that the Republican plan to privatize the United States air traffic control (ATC) system would increase the deficit by nearly $20 billion over ten years. "Today, the Congressional Budget Office landed yet another blow to the flawed Republican plan to privatize our nation's air traffic … Continue Reading
March 01, 2016
Rep. Carson's Opening Statement: “Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Reducing Federal Office Space Costs”
Statement of the honorable Andrè Carson Ranking Member , Subcommittee on economic development, public buildings and emergency management house transportation and infrastructure committee "Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Reducing Federal Office Space Costs" March 1, 2016 Welcome to today's hearing. I am pleased to see Minority Whip Hoyer at the witness table testifying on behalf of his constituents in Maryland. As the federal government's landlord, the General … Continue Reading
February 24, 2016
Rep. Napolitano's Opening Statement: “A Review of United States Army Corps of Engineers Reports to Congress on Future Water Resources Development and Chief’s Reports"
Opening Statement The Honorable Grace F. Napolitano, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Hearing on "A Review of United States Army Corps of Engineers Reports to Congress on Future Water Resources Development and Chief's Reports" February 24, 2016 I would welcome our two witnesses to this hearing - the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, and the Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General Bostick. They … Continue Reading
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