We will come to order. Todays hearing will focus on the reauthorization of the fast act, the nations current surface transportation bill that expires on september 30. We will hear the priorities of key Public Transportation stakeholders. A longterm reauthorization bill is critical to providing the certainty of stability that transit agencies, cities andos d to make responsible transportation lighting decisions. Public transportation plays a key role in our nations economy there are over 400 30,000 workers employed and Public Transportation in the United States. Transit provides approximately 33 million trips every day. Taking Many Americans to and from work, school and medical appointments. Not just in big urban cities, but also small areas. We have found ourselves with yet another reauthorization where the Highway Trust Fund is a most significant issue that needs to be addressed. In order to advance a comprehensive longterm reauthorization bill. While this committee does not have jurisdiction over how these bills are paid for, it is important that revenue shortfalls are addressed in a way that meets current transportation needs. The Highway Trust Fund was originally intended to be funded with federal gas and diesel taxes. However, since 1993, congress has chosen to transfer general fund money into the Highway Trust Fund to pay for reauthorization bills. The highway account required 52. 8 billion funds, general Fund Transfer dollars to pay for the fast act and the transit portion of the fast act required 18. 1 billion general fund infusion. As Congress Explores options for offsetting the cost of the multi year reauthorization, i remind them that fannie mae and freddie mac guarantee and Federal Reserve dividends and Federal Reserve surplus funds should not be used as a piggy bank. Public transportation is an area of our committee which is historically known for having overwhelming bipartisan support. I intend to work with senator brown to continue the bipartisan tradition as we seek to balance the needs of bus and rail, urban and rural systems across the country. There are many changes to the Mobility Landscape such as the rise of Ondemand Service, transitions to electric vehicles and deployment of autonomous technologies that should be addressed and comprehensive longterm bill. Traditional fixed route Transit Service is an essential backbone for comprehensive Transportation Networks. However, there have been numerous technological advances that can enable a Higher Quality of service at a lower cost that agency should consider. For example, Transit Agency should incorporate these technologies to complement fixed Route Service outside of service hours. To provide nonemergency medical transportation. To bring writers to or from fixed Route Service to their final destinations. And to modernize fair payment collection just to name a few. Federal policy should provide more certainty to transit agencies by addressing statutory and regulatory burdens in order to provide more innovation into the transit industry. Federal policies should encourage businesslike operated stations of Transit Systems. This includes streamlining efficiencies, maintaining assets in a state of good repair, leveraging resources for procurements and seeking out partnerships with the private sector where appropriate. While there are many challenges ahead, it is possible for this committee to Work Together to produce a longterm, fiscally responsible reauthorization bill that can garner the bipartisan support both here and on the senate floor. I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses today. Of the priorities of their organizations and i thank them for their willingness to appear here today. Senator brown. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I look forward to working with you to develop a partisan transit title for surface transportation bill. Thank you to the witnesses in all you do for Public Transit in this country. Public transportation help the people we serve reach better jobs and spend less of their time and hard earned money communing. Hard work should pay off, but for most people wages are flat. Costs are up. Housing, healthcare, childcare and yes transportation. We know transportation will be a huge drain on Family Budgets and their time. It can limit job choices. It makes it harder to hold down jobs farther from where people live. The average American Household spends 13 of its income on transportation. Low income workers spend between 20 and 30 of their wages of commuting. An unexpected car repair or accident can devastate families who rely on their cars to get to work. We know that 40 of americans dont have the money to cover 400 expense in an emergency. We know 25 spend at least half of their income on rent. We know so many people live on the edge. What happens . They lose their job because they cant get to work after their car breaks down. They go to a payday lender. They get trapped in a cycle of debt. Either way people feel trapped. One car breakdown away from losing. A more balanced Transportation System with high quality Transit Service can give writers a quick and affordable trip to and from school, to and from work to school to a doctors appointment. It is Pretty Simple when you are better faster Transit Service. More people use appeared in columbus, State Capitol my stay, Central Ohio Transit Authority redesigned a bus route to build a bus Rapid Transit line. It had its highest ridership in 31 years. The bart which i proudly support and contribute to a 25 increase in ridership and the cleveland avenue corridor work since it opened two years ago. When we build better Public Transportation, everyone wins. The cincinnati usa Regional Chamber understands that. They are part of a Broad Coalition to fund highfrequency bus service and road improvements are out hamilton county. In addition to connecting more workers to jobs, highway congestion. It is Pretty Simple. Fewer people on the road. Those that do can get to work faster. Public transit reduces Greenhouse Gas emissions from the transportation sector. The Fastest Growing source of carbon pollution. We are about the tradeoff between creating jobs and climate change, but Public Transit we know does both. It reduces emissions while creating new jobs in manufacturing and operating buses and subways. The fast act in 2015 provided record level of investment in Public Transportation that expires at the end of september and the amount of backlog repairs of the nations Transit Systems has continued to grow peaking at 99 billion in u. S. Dot most recent estimate. What these backlogs mean, more delays when real cars and buses breakdown they mean longer commutes, more crowded highways. In cleveland, the rta operates a fleet of 74 railcars. All of them, every single one of them is more than 34 years old. Needed to be replaced years ago. Cities like cleveland face sizable repairs that cannot be delayed any longer. In addition to providing more, record investment in the Facilities Program and the low and no Emission Vehicle held transit agencies, replace aging vehicles and began fully converting their fleet student zero emission technology. Fta is processing applications under the Capital Investment grants program fairly and efficiently in accordance with the law. Not adding extra requirements or delay and projects. Every single one of these investments should be an investment and good paying american jobs. We need to strengthen requirements. It is not complicated. American tax dollars should be spent on American Products made in america. Safety is always a priority of this committee. We have developed legislation to improve rail inspections. Make sure that our transit workers have the right training and make sure they have a safe workplace. We should not be outsourcing safety functions and the services. I look forward to hearing from representatives of our nations transit providers and the u. S. Chamber. I look forward to hearing from mr. Willis who can speak to the transit workforce needs. To move forward, the finance committee will need to find new funds for the Highway Trust Fund. I will continue working to ensure a mass transit account receives as tradition 20 or more of any new revenue at the Highway Trust Fund. Finally while i work forward to working on this bill, housing is also critical infrastructure. Much for our committee to do. There are hazards in homes across the country including lead that we need to combat. More safe Affordable Homes and preserve the ones that weve got. I hope the transportation bill can support opportunities for transit Oriented Residential Development and other development, but we need comprehensive investment in this infrastructure. Housing needs to be part of that investment. Thank you. Thank you, senator brown. Todays witnesses are president and chief executive officer of the transportation association, mr. Patrick mckenna, president of state highway and transportation officials, mr. Scott, executive director of the Community Transportation association of america, mr. Ed mortimer, Vice President transportation and infrastructure at the u. S. Chamber of commerce and mr. Larry willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department aflcio. Again, welcome to all of you. Your written testimony has been entered into the record. I encourage each of you to wrap up your initial comments by paying attention to the clock feared we do have a vote call that may jam us in a little while. If you stay on time, it will help us stay on time. With that, you may proceed. Chairman crapo, Ranking Member brown and members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify today on the surface transportation reauthorization. I am the president chief executive officer of the transportation association. The association represents over 1500 public and private sector organizations that touch all areas of Public Transit. We are the voice of Public Transit north america. I want to thank you, mr. Chairman and senator jones and mick sally for your leadership in passing the jones mix sally amendment to the 2020 transportation appropriations bill which blocked an automatic 12 , 1. 2 billion reduction for transit agencies across the country. It would have affected every agency. We are deeply grateful for your efforts. Nearly 10 billion times each year with every trip meeting a need or providing an opportunity. Transit is 10 times safer than driving an automobile. It saves money. People can save 10,000 a year by writing Public Transit instead of driving. Yet we still have work to do to provide these benefits and opportunities to more communities. 45 of Americans Still do not have access to Public Transportation. Transit is the job creator. 74 billion industry that directly employs some 435,000 employees and support several million private sector jobs. Importantly, 55 of all transit expenditures flow to the private sector creating or sustaining nearly 50,000 jobs for every 1 billion that is invested. Transit is also important for rural access. People that live in rural areas, transit especially for veterans, seniors and people with disabilities is a lifeline ensuring that access to medical care and other essential appointments can be taken. We have three Top Priorities as part of the reauthorization that i want to share with you. Number one. Providing 145 elegant dollars over six years for Public Transit to fund critical projects that will address the entire state of good repair backlog and fund all the Capital Investment grant projects in the pipeline in the next six years. Reestablishing the historical share of 20 Capital Funding for bus and bus facilities. Number three, creating a new mobility innovation and Technology Initiative to integrate cutting Edge Technologies new Service Delivery approaches and Mobility Options in the transit marketplace. To make these necessary investments, the Highway Trust Fund must be addressed. We strongly support the u. S. Chamber of commerce proposal to increase the gas tax by 0. 05 per year for five years. However, we are also open to any other reasonable bipartisan plan to reduce revenues to the Highway Trust Fund. As you make these difficult choices necessary to fund this bill, we urge you to first fix a shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. Second, after you fix that shortfall we ask that you increase investment in Public Transportation and that it receive at least 20 of the new revenue. Bold investment in Public Transportation will address our repair needs. 99 billion is the u. S. Dot figured several years old. That number is growing and likely will continue to grow. Today almost one in five transit buses and vans are beyond their useful life and the average age of a real vehicle is close to 20 years. Transit is also a key link to equity and opportunity. Public transportation provides a ladder to opportunity for millions of americans. One out of five transit users are from households earning less than 15,000 a year. Transit is also a contributor to ensuring cleaner air as the industry is at the forefront of transitioning to cleaner fuel technologies and fuel sources. Currently more than half of the transit buses use alternative fuels with more than 17 utilizing hybrid technology. We hundred buses in Service Today with zero emission. Zero batterypowered and Hydrogen Fueled him anymore on order. A major source of funding for expanding services to our Capital InvestmentGrant Program that is administered by fda. More than half of all states have benefited from the cig projects. Economic benefits of cig projects are wideranging in addition to the critical local economic benefits of each individual project there are vehicles parts and supplies that are made in america in states all across the nation that are part of the supply chain. Currently 50 cig projects requesting nearly 25 billion in cig funding. Unfortunately over the past two decades both congress and fta have repeated layered additional requirements on the program resulting in bureaucratic maze. After strongly urging the committee to conduct a zerobased review to address all statutory regulatory and administrative requirements. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. We look forward to working with you and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, mr. Mckenna. Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the future of Public Transportation and the reauthorization of the fast act. I am patrick mckenna. I serve as director of the Missouri Department of transportation and president of the American Association of state highway and transportation officials. It is my honor to testify on behalf of the great state of missouri. Representing all 50 states, washington, d. C. And puerto rico. Public transportation is of Vital Public Service in urban and Rural Communities throughout the United States providing more than 10 billion passenger trips annually since 2006. State dot and transit agencies are key providers of the essential mobility services. States continue to make significant investments in Public Transportation at levels consistently higher than the f