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The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials of the United States House of Representatives (“Subcommittee”) held a hearing on December 5th titled:

Where’s My Stuff?: Examining the Economic, Environmental, and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation (“Hearing”)

The Hearing witnesses included and their prepared testimony addressed:

• Ms. Erin Aleman, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
  • Efficient freight movement requires multiple modes working together seamlessly and reliably
  • Improving the freight system to meet growing freight needs is critical to the nation’s economic competitiveness
  • Consumer demand shifts such as the rise in e-commerce/quick delivery is shifting supply chains
  • Public investment in the nation’s multimodal freight infrastructure is chronically inadequate to meet system demands
  • National strategy should be developed that guides long-term planning
  • Sufficient levels of funding should be provided that are dedicated, sustainable and flexible
  • A merit-based criteria for funding allocation should be implemented
  • A partnership should be formed with the private sector
• Mr. Chuck Baker, President, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
  • Short Lines Railroad operate nearly 50,000 miles of track constituting 30% of the national railroad network
  • Short Line Railroads have the right economic stuff preserving service and jobs over track that was previously headed for abandonment under Class I ownership
  • Short Line Railroads service the only connection to the larger national railroad network and some small towns in rural America
  • Short Line Railroads lower transportation costs for the local shippers
  • Short Line Railroads have the right environmental stuff as the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land
  • Short Line Railroads have the right societal stuff as the safest option for moving freight by land
  • Short Line Railroads should be directly eligible applicants for project grants similar to CRISI
  • Mandating crew sizes on trains would be counter-productive because it would make trains less competitive with other transportation modes
• Ms. Anne Goodchild, Ph.D., Founding Director, Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center, University of Washington
  • The last mile of the delivery destination should be considered when freight infrastructure investment is being discussed
  • The last mile is essential, and expensive; and the most difficult and costly mile
  • Online shopping rates are growing which is increasing demand for last mile delivery
  • United States cities were not built to handle the nature and volume of current freight activity and are struggling to accommodate growth
  • There is too much demand for too little space and evidence of poorly functioning system
  • Delivery services present an opportunity to reduce emissions per package as they consolidate many packages into one vehicle
  • Private carriers are struggling to comply with city regulations and remain financial competitive while meeting customer expectations
  • Customers are benefiting from high levels of convenience but also experiencing high levels of congestion and suffering from effects of growing emissions
  • Cities and towns are struggling to meet demands of multiple stakeholders and enforce existing rules
• Mr. Ian Jefferies, President & CEO, Association of American Railroads
  • Railroads are indispensable to the United States economy, expanding existing markets and opening new ones
  • Affordability of freight rails saves customers billions of dollars each year and enhances the global competitiveness of United States products
  • Railroads are the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land
  • Railroads have undertaken steps to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions
  • Railroads help reduce the economic cost of highway congestion
  • Railroads are much more capital intensive than most industries
  • Rail operations are subject to stringent safety oversight by the Federal Railroad Administration
  • Changing markets present a serious challenge to railroads
  • Railroads must be flexible and innovative to meet change in industrial demands
  • The railroad industry supports highway-rail grade crossings safety through engineering solutions, education and enforcement
  • The freight railroad industry supports funding for Amtrak and public partnering with freight railroads
  • Restore the highway trust fund to a true user-based fund
• Mr. Jason Mathers, Director, Vehicles & Freight Strategy, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Implementation of policies that will reduce carbon pollution and set on a path of net-zero carbon emissions economy-wide by 2050 should be implemented now
  • Every mode of freight transportation has a significant pollution footprint and health impacts on communities near freight facilities and highways
  • Analysis of impacts of freight on public health in certain municipalities have been undertaken by the Environmental Defense Fund
  • Solutions exist to significantly reduce impacts
  • Further improvements from an emission standpoint for combustion engine trucks should be sought
  • More should be gotten out of every move in that the United States is using only 43% of the capacity of freight trucks on the road
  • The United States Congress should pass policies that increase the adoption of solutions and invest in the development of solutions that can further drive progress
  • Encourage the production of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles should be encouraged
  • Development of ZEVs within front-line communities should be prioritized
  • The development of appropriate charging infrastructures should be supported
• Mr. Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
  • Freight transportation is important in the context of surface transportation reauthorization
  • Core principles of reauthorization include federal freight policy
  • Specific freight policy recommendations are provided for the next surface transportation bill
  • Ensure timely reauthorization of a long-term federal surface transportation bill
  • A long-term, sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund should be enacted
  • Formula-based federal funding should be provided to the states and increased and prioritized
  • Flexibility should be increased, program burdens reduced, and project delivery improved
  • The state Department of Transportation’s ability to harness innovation and technology should be supported

Copies of the witnesses’ testimonies can be downloaded below:

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Aleman.PDF 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Baker.pdf 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Goodchild.pdf

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Mathers.pdf 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Tymon.pdf