Today we will hear from department of transportation officials. The administrator of the federal railroad administration. The administrator of the federal Motor Carriers administration. And the deputy administrator of the national highway Traffic Safety administration. Welcome to each of you. Fixing americas surface transportation act of 2015 reauthorized many of the modal administrations responsible for ensuring the safety of our surface Transportation System. Fra. Ding fmcsa, nasa, and hearing provides our witnesses with the opportunity to discuss the implementation of and identify issues this committee should consider as we prepare for reauthorization. The act placed a greater focus on our nations multimodal freight i hope the witnesses will provide the committee with an update on efforts to improve infrastructure and how build grants are being utilized. Are the Commerce Committee considers reauthorizing the fast act, i plan on working with members on both sides of the aisle to authorize the build discretionary grants, reauthor right amtrak and continue to enhance our freight and Passenger Rail network, facilitate. Innovative Transportation Technologies across modes, threw coordinated research, development and did he employment. Advance Highway Safety initiativeses, focus on the modal freight network. We are also fully committed to working to improved our coastal and inlands ports. Safety is a top priority for this committee and the department of transportation. But with 37,000 highway deaths in 2017, more must be done. Sadly, deaths in cars also happen when they are parked. Last month i reintroduced the hot cars act with senator blumenthal and Ranking Member cantwell to prevent deaths of children left in unattended vehicles. In my state of mississippi alone, there were at least 18 such fatalities between 1998 and 2018. These tragedies should be addressed immediately through technological improvements and enhanced educational efforts. Technology will be a key part of solving future transportation challenges. Let me take a moment to congratulate secretary chow for preparing for those challengeses by supporting emerging technologies, including the safe demoiment of Autonomous Vehicles. Until such time as Autonomous Vehicles are pervasive on our roads and used, there is still a need for Truck Drivers to move goods. I know the mfcsa is working on a Pilot Program to meet this need by studying the fees independent of allowing 18 to 20yearold drivers with military experience to operate trucks in interstate commerce. I think the committee would benefit from an update on that Pilot Program and a conversation regarding what other steps can be taken to address the shortage of Truck Drivers. There is much to discuss today as we assess the safety and reliability of our nations Transportation System and prepare for reauthorization of the fast act and the future of surface transportation. I look forward to the testimony of our panel of witnesses, and i now recognize my friend, the Ranking Member, for her opening remarks. Thank you, chairman, and thank you for holding this important hearing today and for the witnesses for being here. Every year, planes, trains and vehicles move billions of dollars i goods all over our increasingly connected markets place. Our ports are at the heart of this marketplace, which American Farmers and manufacturers rely on to get products to market. Speed is critical. When farmser and manufacturers cant move their goods efficiencyly, they dont just lose a same. They lose market share. They lose self space and opportunity to compete. Regardless of where you grow or make your product. Whether in the heartlandon or the coast, a worldclass port is good for business. I know the chairman agrees on this issue. Right now we are falling behind. If we dont modernize our ports, countries all over the world will turn elsewhere. Ports all over america are facing competition from nations that are making robots longterm investments in infrastructure. Thanks to the chairman for the policy role this plays, and i look forward to working with him on a comprehensive package. In the fast act, this country fought for multimodal free agent structure. It reduces congestion and increases safety. In the state of washington, just one congested Railroad Crossing in seattle cost 9. 5 million a year in economic activities. By eliminating this choke point we can speed up Freight Movement for goods coming from the heartland to our parts and global markets. Phrase infrastructure initiatives are designed to do just that. In the fast act reauthorization i hope that we will look to increase levels of fundsing to meet the Strong Demand for those programs. As we invest in transportation improvements, we must keep safety at the top of the mind. According to policeman narrow data, there were a staggering 36,750 traffic fa salts in 2018. That is an average of 100 people dying each day on our National Road ways. While the overall crash fatality numbers dropped sattelitesly from 2017, there was a short increase in truck, pedestrian and cyclist that tallets. So i support developing new Vehicle Safety technologies like automated braking and other innovations to be widely deployed throughout our fleets and to continue to make sure that we are meeting the challenge of pedestrian and cyclist safety. We also need to innovate in the area of terrace takes in the area of global winning. Our trance takes sector is responsible for 29 of the u. S. Greenhouse gas emissions. This is an area where smart policies combined with American Ingenuity can mackanin a difference. This committee has been involved with this issues before. The historic 2019 agreement reflected a consensus among automakers and people here in this committee and in the congress. I dont agree with the administrations proposal to roll back fuel efficiency standards. I think that takes us in the wrong direction, and i hope our subcommittee will play a constructive role in moving us in the right direction. I look forward to hearing from the Witnesses Today and working with all of you on meeting our Transportation Safety efficiency and Infrastructure Improvements for the future. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator. We will begin our testimony move down ot and the table. You are recognized, sir. Welcome. Thank you, sir. Chairman, Ranking Member, members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to improve safety in our nations Transportation System as well as progress inplements reforms. It is and hon to testify today before this committee. Safety is the secretarys number one priority and the departments guiding star. We committed to reducing transportation related fatalities in industries across the Transportation Systems. The department has adopted a systemic approach that mitigates risks and encourages changes in infrastructure threw debt driven risk. One approach is the Department Safety deast initiative or sdi. We are seeking to advance our ability to integrate existing data with new big data sources, use advanced analytics and create data visualizations to help Decision Makers arrive at solutions. We are wrapping up the first phase of the Pilot Projects which seek new ways to find answers to fundamental Traffic Safety questions. In another aspect of safety, the development and deployment of Automated Vehicle technology is moving rapidly. We only expect this pace to accelerate over the next decade. The Department Released preparing for the future of transportation 3. 0 which advances our commitment to the safe integration of automation into the service Transportation System. To ensure safety, the Department Must protect the 5. 9 gig herzlich safety band of safety speck truck. This band is important for reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities. All bands are used today with more than 80 connected Vehicle Projects in the United States alone. The department does not promote any particular technology over another, and we encourage the automotive industry, Wireless Technology companies and other innovators to continue developing multiple technologies that leverage the sandy band. I am proud to report that the department has act and all project rules required by map 21 and the fars act. Currently the Environmental Review process is complex and inconsistent for project sponsors. It is critically important to protect the environment and safe guard our communities while reducing project ways. If we make better and more timely decisions, transportation agencies can deliver Critical Infrastructure projects across the country and their associated safety benefits. The department is taking additional actions that expand on these reforms by implements one federal decision. These actions are designed to improve the process by increasing transparency and accountsability while also expanding early coordination with age says and stake holders. Additionally, new technologies may not always fight precisely into the departments existing respiratory structure, resulting in a slower pace of transportation innovation. The department announced the creation of the that traditional and emerging Transportation Technology or net council. The council is an internal deliberative team tasks with ige feingold regulatory gaps. They may impede the emploit of new technology. The council will address challenges and uncertainties in obtaining necessary authorizations and permits by ensuring the solos of d. O. T. Do not impede the deployment of new technology. In closing, safety remains the number one priority. We are committed to improving safety while leading innovation in our Transportation System. Chairman and Ranking Member, members, thank you for your time today. I will be pleased to answer any of your questions of thank you, sir. Next . Thank you for the opportunities to discuss Railroad Safety and safety and officials in our rate system. The mission is to enable the safe, reliable and efficiency move of people and goods for a Strong America now and in the future. With the secretarys leadership, fra executes its mission in many ways. Fra enforces critical safety regulations in partners with industry to develop and promote regulatory and nonregulatory solutions to safety issues. Fra seeks to manage federal investment in Rail Infrastructure in a Cost Effective and efficient manner and pursues research and development to advance innovateoff technologies and best practices in Railroad Operations and maintenance. In recent years we have seen great advances in Railroad Safety, post the train accident rate and the Railroad Employee injury rates have declined. Despite these advances, greats grade crossing and trespasser accidents remain the leading cause for rail relate defendants. It grows, the industry is responsibility for ensuring all of our rail system is the safest and most Efficient Network this country has ever seen. Safety is fras top priority. Fra believes safety and innovation go hand in hand. Fra believes people and technology play a critical role. Fra addresses safety risks using riskbased proactive approaches, focuses resources on top safety issues while continues Innovative Research to further advancements in Rail Technology and advancements in infrastructure. Last year fra announced last week fra i announced the selection of 326 million in grant funds under the consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety ImprovementGrant Program. With significance investments directed towards grade crossing, track and signal and bridge improvements. Today i would like to highlight the top Safety Initiatives fra is prioritizing. Ptc, torres press are prevention, and fras close call recruiting program commonly referred to as c 3 rs. Now positive train control. Railroads successful implementation of tpc remains at the top the agenda. As i have said many times and before this hearing, implementation of ptc in rail operations represents the most fundamental change in Rail Technology in more than a centsry. With 20 months remaining until the statutory deadline, the department and fra will continue to provide extensive Technical Assistance and perform comprehensive oversight to both host and tenants railroads and hold each to a d acountsdable comparable ptc system. Going to trespasser prevention. It is also a top on the agenda in preventing trespassing incidents on Railroad Property and increasing grade crossing safety. Trespassing on rail roll property is the leading cause of all railroad deaths in the United States, grade crossings are the second. Together they have acounted for over 95 of all rail related fatalitieses. One of my top objectives is to lead, promote and strengthen efforts among all public, private and gostisbehere last, ders to reporting systems is a oluntary program to help railroads improve their Safety Culture and to proactively identify safety issues before accidents occur. They piloted a program in 2007 with a train yard and engine craft employees of four railroads. Since then the program has grown to 15 railroads with over 23 employees involved from the crafts. Going forward, fra is prioritizing the stance of the program along with other industry partnerships designed to ensure transparent sharing of information among all stockholders and enables the effective nationals and elimination of risks without the environment. In conclusion, fra has a responsibility to the public, to the Railroad Employees and the rail yodse themselves to lead to the next gen race of Safety Improvement. Fra is committed to continuing to work with all stakeholders to achieve this new level of safety. Thank you. Mr. Martinez . Good morning. Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify about fmcsas progress implements the facts acts. It is an hon to testify before the can committee today. As you know, the primary focus is to improve safety among large trucks and buses on our nations roadways. Today he would like to update you on several key areas of focus for the agency. First, we are moving forward on refining how we use motor carrier data. The National Academy of sciences conducted the correlation study of the compliance safety accountsability program and its Safety Management system and made recommendations to us in its july 2017 report. We have accepted those recommendations and published our corrective action plan. And we are continuing other efforts to complete our actions in this area. How crashes are used in the Safety Management system has been a longstanding concern of drivers and Motor Carriers. So fmcsa launched a crash preventability demonstration ogram in july of 2017 to review certain crash scenarios to determine if the driver could have prevented the crash. Too date, more than 5,500 preventability determinations have been made on eligible crashes, and about 93 of them were found to be not preventable. This is good for the carrier, the driver and for the agency because we have eliminated bad data. The secretary announced that we can continue the Program Beyond its original july 2019 ending date. They will publish a notice explaining changes to the program. Mr. Chairman, we are also implements the drug and alcohol cheering house, which identifies driver who have ommitted drug or alcohol violations, making them ineligible to drive until they complete the process. In january of 2020, the Clearing House will begin collecting positive test rulls and refuelsals. And the implementation of the logging device mandate in core adds withry requirements. It requires drivers to use elds to record information about their hours of service. The first compliance was december of 201