James Oberstar

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3218, to designate a portion of Interstate 395 located in Baltimore, MD, as ``Cal Ripken Way.'' Cal Ripken, Jr. was not only a remarkable baseball player, he was an outstanding role model for the youth of America. He exhibited the utmost in professionalism and sportsmanship in every aspect of his life. Cal Ripken, Jr. was known to many as the ``Iron Man'' for tirelessly overcoming many minor injuries to always be in the lineup for his team and for the fans. He took the field for the Baltimore Orioles on May 30, 1982 and did not miss a game until September 19, 1998. On September 6, 1995, millions of fans worldwide tuned in to watch Cal Ripken, Jr. surpass Lou Gehrig for the most consecutive games played, at 2,131 games. He ended his streak having played in 2,632 consecutive games. By the time he retired from professional baseball, in October 2001, Cal Ripken had played 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. During that time, Mr. Ripken had broken the team's record for career games played, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, homeruns, RBIs, total bases, and walks. He is a member of Major League Baseball's exclusive 3,000 hit club. Cal Ripken stuck with his team through the good years and the bad years with a level of professionalism rare in sports today. He was a favorite among fans and holds the record for most All-Star votes received by any single player. He was voted to play in the All-Star game 19 times, and won the game's Most Valuable Player, MVP, honor twice. On Thursday, July 26, 2007, Cal Ripken, Jr. was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, with the third highest percentage of votes ever received. After his storied baseball career, Cal Ripken, Jr. continues to make a difference in his community an across the country. Along with his brother Billy, he formed the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to give underprivileged children the opportunity to attend baseball camps around the country and to learn his beloved game. Between 2001 and 2004, Ripken served as commissioner of the White House Tee Ball Initiative, in which he worked to promote the value of teamwork and volunteerism amongst young players. On April 9, 2007, Ripken announced a partnership with the recently formed ``Reviving Baseball in the Inner City'' program, with the donation of $1 million in cash and equipment from the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3218, to dedicate a portion of our Nation's highway system to commemorate the tremendous career and outstanding leadership of Cal Ripken, Jr.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 606, introduced by my colleague from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison). I extend my gratitude for his work to introduce this resolution and bring it forth for consideration on the House floor. On August 1, 2007, at 6:05 p.m., during the evening rush hour, the bridge on Interstate 35 W spanning the Mississippi River suddenly collapsed. The eight-lane, steel truss bridge span carried approximately 140,000 vehicles each day. This horrific catastrophe claimed the lives of 13 people; 123 other individuals were injured. Visions of this tragedy and the destruction left in the wake of the bridge collapse remain etched in our memories. Yet the scenes of the damage have been softened by the touching images of the hundreds of fire fighters, police officers, including the University of Minnesota police, and emergency response personnel that rushed to aid their fellow citizens. The direct actions of these civil servants and citizens immediately following this tragedy are examples of extraordinary courage. The brave men and women who were first on the scene, and remained working around the clock after the collapse, helped to minimize the toll of this tragedy and undoubtedly saved lives. The aftermath of the collapse has also been made easier to bear with the help from over 50 organizations and local governments and a national outpouring of sympathy and prayers. A few months ago, the people of Minnesota suffered a different kind of catastrophe: a raging forest fire. The blaze began on May 5, 2007, in the Gunflint Trail area in far northeastern Minnesota, roared across the Canadian border, and then returned to Minnesota to devastate my district. It consumed nearly 76,000 acres and destroyed 140 structures. Many first responders heeded the call to this fire. The dedicated men and women of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department were among the first to arrive on the scene, followed by firefighters and fire departments from across the region. In all, over 1,000 personnel assisted in fighting this blaze. No lives were lost, there were only 11 minor injuries, and 759 structures were saved thanks to the efforts of these responders. The responses to these disasters are just two examples of the countless selfless acts that our Nation's first responders carry out every day simply by doing their job. Twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, all over this country, when any type of tragedy enters our lives, from a medical emergency facing a neighbor to a large-scale natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other incident, our Nation's emergency responders are the first on the scene to provide professional services, expert help, aid and comfort. These well-trained, highly- skilled individuals are truly on the front lines in preparing for, responding to, and mitigating damages from a variety of hazards. Across the country, the millions of men and women who serve this nation as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, including those in Minnesota, place themselves in great danger every day in order to protect each one of us. They deserve our deepest thanks and respect. I stand with Congressman Ellison in recognizing the outstanding work and effort of the first responders in response to the tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota and laud their unflinching dedication to duty. While we can never adequately express our gratitude to the brave men and women, this resolution is a fitting tribute. I strongly support this resolution and urge its passage.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. The gentleman fully knows the issue at hand in Massachusetts. The entire Massachusetts delegation knows their State better than we here in this body. As for the capacity issue, that amendment was never offered. Our bill does keep the lights on, but with photovoltaic, energy efficient lighting, compact fluorescents. To reduce the cost, save the use of coal so that it can be directed to more important industrial purposes like producing steel, we do have an energy conservation and energy-creating program that we bring to the floor in our portion of this legislation. I was actually out this morning myself helping the energy issue, consuming 900 calories on the seat of a bicycle, rather than consuming a gallon of gasoline in my car. In fact, if we all did that, we could save that eight barrels of oil a year, consume 86,000 calories on the seat of a bicycle and convert from a hydrocarbon economy to the carbohydrating economy.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I listened with interest to my good friend from Florida about our committee markup on this legislation, and I do think that a correction to the record is in order. The Drake amendment would have amended the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program to allow construction of new single- occupancy vehicle lanes. That hardly contributes to energy conservation. CMAQ is intended for high-occupancy vehicle lanes. Ninety-eight percent of the STP and NHS programs can be used for single-occupancy vehicle lanes. CMAQ, since ISTEA in 1991, has been an energy conservation and air quality improvement program. That amendment would have set us back rather than moved us forward. The L&G provision the gentleman referenced, the amendment was directed at a provision in the existing safety law legislation in the State of Massachusetts, one which the entire Massachusetts delegation supported in 2005, and the existing law and this provision would have overturned or significantly amended that language and was vigorously opposed by the entire Massachusetts delegation. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. OBERSTAR. The European community nations have achieved a remarkable milestone. They have achieved a 10 percent mode shift from automobiles to transit. The State of New Jersey has also achieved a mode shift to 10 percent of all travel by transit. If we can make that mode shift nationwide in the U.S., we will save the equivalent of all the oil we import from Saudi Arabia. That's 550 million barrels a year. The recommendations from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure incorporated in this bill will move us in that direction. We authorize $1.7 billion of capital operating funds for transit agencies to reduce fares and expand services, to purchase alternative fuel buses, alternative fuel locomotives, ferries, and refueling facilities. If the alternative transit program had been continued with vigor, there was a very successful hydrogen bus initiative that produced vehicles that operated in Santa Barbara, California, that I had the privilege of going out there to ride in those buses. We can achieve those goals without a Manhattan Project or without a man on the moon project because we have the technology already in hand. Our legislation also increases the Federal share for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement funds to increase incentives for States to use those funds. We authorize funding for the purchase of green locomotives and track improvements for short-line railroads. The private line, private sector rail companies have had great success with their green goat switch engines in makeup yards for freight rails, producing vastly less particulates and CO2 and NOX in those areas which are very close to habited communities that feel mostly the effect of the noise and the air pollution, vast reductions in already existing technology with no loss in efficiency but also savings of cost. We also authorize $2 billion in loan guarantees to establish a short sea shipping transportation program which would be very beneficial on the Great Lakes, would help reduce the congestion in Chicago, and would improve the coastwise trade on the east, west and gulf coast regions of the United States. We also require GSA, General Services Administration, to install energy-efficient light bulbs in Federal buildings, including to photovoltaic systems. We require the Department of Energy to construct a sun wall on its headquarters. Actually, that building was constructed, the south wall, with no windows or doors to accommodate solar application. We reported that bill early in the work of our committee with the support of our ranking member, Mr. Mica, and enthusiastic bipartisan vote in the committee to use money out of the public building fund to build that wall so that at the end of the day the Department of Energy will pump excess electricity into the Pepco grid system and run all of the elevators, escalators, computers, lights, anything that runs on electricity by photovoltaics. We already have technology. We need to do that. Our provisions in this bill will, using what already exists to save energy, reduce costs. And I just add one further item, and that is on the General Services Administration, our committee has jurisdiction over 366 million of square feet of Federal office space. The electricity bill annually is $5.8 billion. If we install photovoltaic cells on all those buildings, we can save 90 percent of that cost and save also the consumption of coal and natural gas, whatever it takes to produce the electricity for those buildings. These are all realistic, within grasp, available technology initiatives that we bring to you in a very practical way. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the amendment offered by Mr. Hoyer. In particular, this Manager's package includes two provisions submitted as an amendment by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: a provision to help maximize the energy efficiency of the Capitol Power Plant, CPP, and a provision to help expand intercity bus service. I thank the Speaker and the gentleman from Maryland for including these important enhancements to the bill. This amendment requires the Architect of the Capitol to operate the steam boilers and the chiller plant at the Capitol Power Plant in the most efficient manner possible. Adopting these changes will reduce the carbon emissions and energy required to operate the building of the House of Representatives and result in cost savings for the American people. This provision implements recommendations outlined in the final report on the ``Green the Capitol'' initiative, which was issued and submitted to Congress on June 21, 2007. The recommendations draw on the research conducted by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkley Laboratory, LBL, on the operating practices of the CPP. According to this research, operation of the House buildings was responsible for approximately 91,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide-Equivalent Emissions (CO2-e) emissions in fiscal year 2006. This value is equivalent to the annual (CO2-e) emissions of 17,200 cars. The LBL study determined that the current CPP practices do not take into account operating differences by season. Specifically, the chilled water temperature could be raised in the winter when less cooling is needed and the steam pressure could be lowered in the summer when less heat is needed. The level of steam pressure could be lowered overall because energy needs in the buildings have decreased over time. The estimated cost of fine-tuning the steam pressure used to supply House office buildings is approximately $10,000 and results in an annual savings of $417,000 per year. The costs of tuning the boilers could be recouped in direct energy savings in just 1 week. The anticipated costs for optimizing the chilled water distribution to the House office buildings is approximately $25,000 and could save about $340,000 annually. The costs of this effort could be recouped in direct energy savings in just 1 month. The amendment also will require the Architect of the Capitol to ensure the accuracy of the steam and chilled water meters in the House office buildings as part of standard maintenance practice, to maximize energy efficiency. These are small changes, but they stand to have a big impact on improving the energy efficiency of the Capitol Power Plant, and in turn, reduce the energy consumption required to operate House buildings. This amendment allows the Federal Government to lead by example in the promotion of energy efficiency. The Manager's package also makes technical corrections to the section of the bill authorizing grants to improve public transportation services. The bill provides that grant funds are to be used either to reduce public transportation fares or to expand public transportation service in both urban and rural areas. However, current law authorizes intercity buses to provide public transportation services between rural areas in order to provide additional, meaningful transit services to those areas. Therefore, in order for the grant funds provided under this bill to be used for eligible purposes under current law, this technical amendment is needed to authorize intercity bus services as an eligible use of grant funds. I strongly support this amendment and urge its adoption.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers). Our Nation is experiencing a public transportation renaissance. Last year, people took over 10.1 billion trips on public transportation. Transit experienced its highest ridership in 47 years. Currently, transit use reduces U.S. gasoline consumption by approximately 1.4 billion gallons per year, or 3.9 million gallons per day. However, transit could play a much larger role in reducing our dependence on foreign oil if the traveling public had additional transit options. One of the lowest cost modes of public transportation is vanpooling. Vanpooling is an arrangement by which commuters travel together in a van, usually 6 to 15 passengers. Vanpooling is used often in para- transit and special needs services, such as providing transportation services for the elderly. It is also used by employers to transport commuters to and from work. Vanpools provide transit services in a variety of ways. Public transportation agencies own and operate vanpools, and often times, the public agencies contract with private operators to provide vanpool service. This amendment creates a new vanpool demonstration program through the Department of Transportation to explore the cost and energy efficiencies of transit vanpool services. It will enhance the ability of communities to offer vanpool transit services by providing State and local governments access to a Federal Transit Administration policy known as the ``Federal Capital Cost of Contracting'' policy. The provision simply provides local governments with an additional option for using Federal formula transit dollars. It also allows private sector vanpool providers to leverage private investment with Federal transit funds, by using private capital as a local match, in order to lower the cost of joining a vanpool. It is estimated that this program could conserve over 500 million gallons of fuel per year and greatly reduce ozone emissions. The program will also provide commuters with increased transit services and options which will help reduce congestion nationwide without having an impact on the Federal budget. I urge my colleagues to support the Tauscher/Rogers amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. OBERSTAR. In the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, in our title of this bill we provide strengthening language for the Center for Climate Change and Environment in the Department of Transportation. And we require the Center to study and track low-cost solutions to reducing transportation-related energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, which is exactly in the line that the gentleman proposes, potential fuel savings and benefits derived from intelligent transportation systems. We have to use the available technology on the ground as we do in the air for ITS to save fuel and energy for aviation. We can apply that technology to the ground, as the gentleman is proposing. So we support this amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kagen), a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3311) to authorize additional funds for emergency repairs and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35 bridge located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that collapsed on August 1, 2007, to waive the $100,000,000 limitation on emergency relief funds for those emergency repairs and reconstruction, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, H.R. 3311, and include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, at the outset, let me express my great appreciation to my colleagues in the Minnesota delegation for their cohesion and their support of legislative action to respond promptly to the needs of the people of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota. Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Kline, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Ellison, in whose district this tragedy occurred, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Walz, Mr. Peterson have all united as one in support of the needs of the people and in common mourning for the tragedy that occurred. All of us were struck deeply within our souls over this tragedy. Ms. McCollum's daughter, just miraculously almost, passed over this bridge shortly before it collapsed. I want to express my great appreciation to the gentleman from Florida, the ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mr. Mica, and his staff and to Mr. Petri, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Mr. DeFazio of Oregon, Chair of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, for the cooperation, for the splendid efforts made, and for the common cause in which we all persevered to bring this legislation promptly to the House, as we are doing today. And, again, I'm very grateful to the gentleman from Florida for his participation. Bridges are built to last, not forever, but for a very long time. The title, in Latin, of the leader of the Catholic church is Pontifex Maximus, the maximum bridge builder. And when that title was adopted, bridges were built to last. The one in Rome has lasted 2,000 years, a marble arch bridge. But in our day and time, not much that we build lasts forever, and that is why we have a bridge inspection program. That is why we annually evaluate the condition, structure and structural integrity of bridges and their operational capacity and ability; and why, in the current law, SAFETEA-LU, with the help of then Chairman Young, I included language to authorize the funding of a new technology comparable to the technology used in aviation to determine the structural integrity of aircraft wings, movable surfaces and fuselage, to find hairline cracks using technology that can discover microscopic cracks not visible to the naked eye and then measure their propagation and do the same with bridges. The Minnesota Department of Transportation was offered the opportunity to use that technology, and I am disappointed that the State rejected the opportunity to use that technology to test the structural integrity of the bridge that collapsed. In March of 2004, I sent Members of the House a letter and information providing data developed, at my request, by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics showing the number and location of structurally deficient bridges in the national highway system in each Member's congressional district. Now, not many Members followed up on that, but I just happen to have in front of me the letter addressed to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) who did respond. The letter pointed out the number of structurally deficient bridges in each Member's district and then pointed out that, in 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation found that 167,566 of the Nation's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Since then, that number has grown to, of the 597,340 bridges in the national bridge inventory, 26 percent are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Then the cost to repair and bring to a good state of maintenance, the cost in 2004, was estimated at $9.4 billion a year to maintain. In the SAFETEA-LU legislation, we provided $4 billion a year. It should have been at $5 billion. If the original introduced bill Mr. Young and I introduced in October of 2003 had prevailed, we'd have been at $5 billion a year. We are where we are. But this is the map, in smaller form, that we sent out to all Members of the House in 2004. For the State of Minnesota, it lists all the structurally deficient bridges. There are 19 on this list updated today. The State of Minnesota has 13,000 bridges. 1,135 are structurally deficient. 451 are functionally obsolescent. That's 12.2 percent. That's one of the lowest percentages in the country, but it underscores the serious problem of the State of Minnesota and of the Nation's bridges. We come to the floor today united in purpose to help the State rebuild this structure. The estimate from the Minnesota Department of Transportation is in the range of $200 plus million, which may grow, depending on the bridge abutments on both sides of the river; and the structural integrity of those facilities has yet to be fully evaluated. So the $250 million is a soundly based estimate, based on engineering evaluations, and is a fair number, and so is the funding that we provide in the legislation to compensate the State for the shift from highway transportation to transit as occurred in California, in Oakland earlier this year in April when their bridge collapsed due to a tanker truck collapse. Those are the basic figures. Those are the justifications. We've limited, capped the dollar amount for transit at $5 million in response to a question from the other body, and we have a well-supported figure of $250 million for the reconstruction out of general revenue funds. I appeal for the support of this body for this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Minneapolis (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I would like to inquire how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin, our neighboring State (Mr. Kind).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 10 seconds. I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska for his leadership on SAFETEA-LU and for the participation we enjoyed together in crafting that and previous legislation. I thank him for his comments, with which I concur. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the Speaker, the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time. I think the applause on our side for all of the speakers shows the depth of feeling, the depth of appreciation that the Minnesota delegation feels toward each other, toward others in the body who have spoken tonight, toward our ranking member, Mr. Mica, to whom, once again, I express my appreciation for the responsiveness and to prompt action on this matter. And to the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Young, I remember so well the Sunshine Skyway Bridge tragedy and later included it in a hearing that then Mr. Clinger, my ranking member on the Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee, held hearings that included that tragedy. I was here to vote on the funding for that restoration of that bridge, and I appreciate the gentleman's recollection. We will look back, I guess, in a few days, on this moment as a welcome respite from the cacophony of dissidence that we have heard in the last several hours in this body. Unfortunately, tragedy, loss of life and injury has brought us together, but it shows the greatness of this House of Representatives, that it can come together and find common cause and move ahead. I hope that respite from cacophony will prevail in the other body as we send this legislation forward and that there will not be, as has been threatened, procedural issues raised or jurisdictional matters that may be raised that might deter a provision of this legislation to provide respite from the congestion that will result in the reconstruction of this bridge and that already is occurring in the city of Minneapolis. The House provided respite for Oakland, San Francisco in the collapse of the 580 and 880 structures just earlier this year, in April. We provide almost identical language and support in this legislation. I just hope the other body will not raise objections and move this legislation forward, because those are relatively minor matters that be can resolved in the management by DOT of that transit language. I want to thank all our colleagues for the dignity of this discussion tonight and for the support expressed for the people of Minnesota by the rest of the Nation. We thank you, thank all our colleagues, and we ask for a wholehearted vote in support of this legislation.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I listened thoughtfully to the comments of the gentleman from North Carolina. Those are issues that can be addressed in another time and another venue. We will most certainly address those matters in good order. As I said at the outset, this is the seventh time the House has passed this technical corrections bill. We've been waiting patiently for the other body to join us in meaningful action on the bill, and so I know there's going to be a recorded vote. That's going to be reaffirmation of the strong stand the House has taken on these, and they truly are technical matters. We ought to just get them passed so that we can get over, so the States and the Federal Government agencies can get on with the work they need to undertake and that these adjustments to Members' projects can be made and be carried forward. That's really what this is all about, and other matters that go beyond the scope of this current technical correction we will address in future legislation.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and ask for an ``aye'' vote on the bill.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the rule, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 1495) to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources, to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States, and for other purposes.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the conference report on H.R. 1495.