LaHood issues statement supporting transit, sustainability

T4America releases summary

Steve Hawley, Feb 18, 09.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood released a statement yesterday supporting transit, high-speed rail, and sustainable development in response to the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In an excerpt, LaHood says:

We will use the transportation funding in the Act to deliver jobs and restore our nation’s economy. We will emphasize sustainable investment and focus our policies on the people, businesses and communities who use the transportation systems. And, we will focus on the quality of our environment. We will build and restore our transportation foundations until the American dream is returned.

We will invest in jobs to expand transit capacity and modernize transit systems. Transit is a centerpiece of my focus on livable communities and our Department will work closely with Vice President Biden’s “Middle-class Taskforce” on transit initiatives.

We will invest in jobs to allow Amtrak to add and modernize cars and engines and upgrade its tracks.

We will invest in jobs to expand airport capacity and make safety improvements.

We will invest in jobs to build and rehabilitate and make safer roads, highways, bridges and ports.

And we will invest in jobs to launch high-speed rail in America. This will transform intercity transportation in America, reduce our carbon footprint, relieve congestion on the roads and in the skies, and take advantage of a mode of transportation that has already benefited Europe and Japan for many years.

There are those who argue that we need to waive environmental regulations to put people to work more quickly, but that is simply not the case. We have a backlog of worthwhile transportation projects waiting for funding that have already met those standards. We are ready to build a new transportation infrastructure and we will work to keep it green.

In addition, Transportation for America has released a full summary of the transportation elements in the recovery bill. The numbers are identical to those reported earlier, but the information contains certain conditions and sub-allocations in the bill, including timelines for obligating funds, as well as other transportation-related items such as economic recovery zone bonds.