WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA)
joined Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) in introducing legislation that would
establish America’s first comprehensive national freight transportation policy
to support a growing trade economy. The FREIGHT (Focusing Resources,
Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation) Act would
ensure America’s global economic competitiveness by modernizing the nation’s
freight transportation system to support the quick and cost-effective movement
of goods. The FREIGHT Act is especially important to Washington state, which
has one of the most robust export economies in the country.
“Exports
play a critical role in Washington’s economy, with one in every three jobs in
the state tied to trade,” said Senator Cantwell. “We need a modern freight
transportation system that allows our economy to grow by quickly moving goods
from farm to factory to port. The FREIGHT Act establishes America’s first
comprehensive national freight transportation policy to improve freight
mobility and lay the groundwork for strong economic growth and job creation.”
Washington
state handles seven percent of U.S. exports and six percent of U.S. imports. In
2010, Washington state exported over $53 billion worth of goods, making
Washington state fourth in the nation for exports and third in the nation for
exports per capita. Together, the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle comprise the second
largest load center in the nation.
“The safe and efficient movement of goods
across our nation is critical for our businesses, especially for those in my
home state of Washington,” said
Senator Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. “The FREIGHT Act will
help bring us a national freight policy that will dramatically improve freight
mobility in this country and increase the competitiveness of our businesses,
reduce congestion, and provide a much-needed boost to job creation in our
communities.”
According
to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nine Washington state cities rank in
the nation’s top 125 freight gateways handling international merchandise by
air, land, and water, including Seattle, Tacoma, Blaine, Kalama, Vancouver,
Bellingham, Anacortes, and Sumas. Provisions of the FREIGHT Act would help
Washington state grow its robust trade economy by making investments to
modernize and improve the efficiency of Washington’s intermodal freight
network, which includes ports, freight railways, air cargo infrastructure,
highways, and pipelines.
Last August, Cantwell met
with Washington state port and transportation officials to discuss the
importance of investing in a multimodal freight network to ensure the capacity
exists to move goods and products more efficiently. More than twelve Washington
state port, rail, and other transportation officials signed on in support of
the FREIGHT Act. View a dozen supporting quotes here.
The
FREIGHT Act would direct the federal government to develop and implement a
strategic plan to ready the nation’s freight transportation system to support
economic growth and job creation. The legislation would create a new Office of
Freight Planning and Development within the Department of
Transportation (DOT) that would coordinate efforts
to improve the efficiency and operation of all modes of the
national freight transportation system. The Secretary of the DOT
would be directed to develop and implement a long-term national
freight transportation strategic plan that meets the goals of the
FREIGHT Act, and issue biennial progress reports, which would include any
challenges to implementation and any requested policy and legislative changes.
The
major goals established by the FREIGHT Act are:
- Reduce delays of goods and commodities entering into
and out of intermodal connectors that serve international points of entry
on an annual basis.
- Increase travel time reliability on major freight
corridors that connect major population centers with freight generators
and international gateways on an annual basis.
- Reduce by 10 percent the number of freight
transportation-related fatalities by 2015.
- Reduce national freight transportation-related carbon
dioxide levels by 40 percent by 2030.
- Reduce freight transportation-related air, water, and
noise pollution and impacts on ecosystems and communities on an annual
basis.
The
FREIGHT Act would also create a new competitive grant program for
freight-specific infrastructure projects, such as port infrastructure
improvements, freight rail capacity expansion projects, and highway
projects that improve access to freight facilities.
The
FREIGHT Act is endorsed by the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade
Corridors. The organization’s support letter can be found
here: http://lautenberg.senate.gov/assets/FREIGHT.pdf.
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