In particular. But all of you to the hearing, as we are galloping toward the need to the act. Cities and localities are looking to us to see what we are to do. I met with a group this morning and congress. It is in the most difficult we have had to do. The issues havent waited for congress to catch up on revenue. After and in the using other methods. To get rid of congestion and to bring us into the 21st century. On transportation. In todays hearing, we will look at some of those questions. The nuances of federal towing policy and congestion pricing. Off technology solutions. To address congestions or congestion and many other Transportation Needs today. While congress failed to solve the revenue question, is negatively attacked and affected the constituents as never before. Not to mention, the quality of air we breathe and failure to deal with Climate Change which was not even discussed at the time of the last reauthorization, to indicate just how far time has moved and how much congress has to catch up. The urban mobility report indicates, we here in the region are the thirdhighest. I hope yours on 1840 preapproved constituent. That is what my constituents pay. It is nothing short of a congestion tax. In our case, it is the result of 248 million hours of congestion delays in 2017, across the dc metropolitan area. I invite you to look at what this means and what the rip port says for your own area. Public Health Study Found that 83 of the nation urban areas contributed more than 2200 premature death annually. That is an 18 billion cost to the health care system. When its his largest urban area, that means the entire area of the big city and its suburbs. While the debate how to congestion, we have left the states and localities looking on their own and looking for more sources of revenue. Today will hear support for greater towing flexibility, enabling states and localities to raise more revenue but we will also hear from others that congress should erect barriers. This difference is deliberate. The division youll see on the panel is representative of a broader disagreement. On polling policies that congress will have to debate. Congestion pricing has become mainstream. Than hotline springing up across many urban areas. We have variablerate pricing causing drivers to enter into a congestion area and see where new york city has done. In the state of virginia and variable tolls on all lanes on i66 during rush hour. I never thought i would see what has resolved it. People are paying. Tolls as high as 47 for a single 10 mile trip. Excessive tolls race significant facet. Particularly the impact on low income drivers. They are likely to divert traffic onto nearby roads and neighborhoods. People are not wanting to pay 42 plus. We cant gloss over those impacts as we look at the new strategies. I am particularly interested and how it can resolve congestion. Autonomous vehicles for example. Can they reduce congestion or do they increase congestion when anybody can hop into a cargo anyplace they want. We should be asking the same questions and connected vehicles. Finally, i think it is critical and do not intend to neglect the robust systems we need. And reducing congestion. And the National Capital region. The roads would be impossible. Dense urban areas rely on Subway Service while rapid bus transit will greatly reduce congestion and not to mention hot lanes which are becoming more popular. Some of todays panels suggest that toll revenue should only go to maintain the tollroad. I remind you, investing in transit and other methods to reduce miles traveled is highly effective in reducing congestion. I want to thank the witnesses for joining today. I want to ask the chairman of the committee. I could i not move to the left. My good friend mr. Davis, for his comment. And honor, especially if we get policies moving forward, i would always yield to the chairman first if that helps. We wake everybody up. That means i put them to sleep. That was not me that alluded to that. That was the chairman. In all seriousness, thank you. This is a great committee. I enjoyed serving with chairwoman norton and this committees history of bipartisanship. Were looking for solutions. That is why we are here today to find some solutions. I want to thank the witnesses and recognize that the subcommittee will continue to do our work to reauthorize the federal surface transportation policies. As part of this effort, you are all here. We held a number of hearings as well outside of this one on very important policy topics. I want to thank the chair for allowing us to participate in these types of gatherings. It truly does help us come up with solutions. Today, the subcommittee will focus on tools being utilized by state and local communities to mitigate congestion. That can be caused by various issues, such as weather, traffic incidents and as many of you had in your testimony, capacity constraints. According to the urban mobility with court, americans traveled an extra 8. 8 billion hours due to congestion and purchased an extra 3. 3 billion gallons of fuel into a cost of 166 billion in 2017. Dr. Lomax that worked on this report is with us today. And more to finding in the testimony and followup questions. Congestion negatively impacts the ability to move products to domestic and International Markets which undermines the economy and the global competitiveness. Congestion is not just an urban issue. I can tell you in my district, my constituents idea of congestion is much different than the idea of congestion in washington, dc or other larger urban areas. It is perhaps most importantly, congestion again, no matter where you are, in my district or here. It is a personal issue. Sitting in traffic means it is less time to do things that are most important to each of us. I remember sitting in traffic may be late to football practices that i was coaching my kids Football Game or team or getting to a basketball game late to watch my daughter cheer. These are things that are personal. The hearing will focus on how states and local communities are utilizing some of the tools in the toolbox, pricing strategies and new technologies to address congestion. Witnesses will provide real world examples of how these tools are being deployed, as well as give a perspective on whether or not these tools are working well. There are other tools beyond those that are the focus of the hearing today. We are going to tackle congestion, we need a thoughtful approach that provides state and local communities with the flexibility to do what makes sense, given unique circumstances. No single solution will work here in washington cadiz the. At the same time, work in the 13th Congressional District of illinois where i served. I look forward to the discussion on this issue and learning more about how the federal government can be a good partner to states and local communities as they seek to address congestion. With that, thank you to witnesses and to chairwoman norton and chairman defazio for being here at this important hearing today. We appreciate your remarks mr. Davis. B now it is your turn. Mr. Defazio. You have both made points that Congress Needs to Pay Attention to. The cost of congestion on an annual basis is about four times the federal investment. We are wasting more time than we are investing on an annual basis year after year. Around here, we are paralyzed. We can figure out how we we pay for this. We have an adjusted the gas and diesel tax since 1993. And would propose something so minimus citizen terracing that we cant do it. Just index the tax and do bonding. Limit the annual increase to 1. 5 cents per gallon per year. I keep saying that and you think you will lose your election if gas goes up 1. 5 cents. When you go to work collegial by the gas station and it probably went up a nickel or down a nickel. No one is going to notice that. People around the country showed they are willing to pay to get out of congestion. Congress did not get the message. The white house did not get the message. They love to talk about big infrastructure. We were up to 2 trillion for a few weeks then down to zero. The budget consistently cuts transportation investment. The states cant do it on their own. They are trying. The states are trying. A lot of all red states raised their gas tanks and registration fees. State that had mixed governments and blue states. It is not a partisan issue in america. It seems to be an issue here in washington, dc. We are at a point of total paralysis. Im not going to repeat the statistics. The amount of fuel wasted, about 4 billion gallons per year, adding to problems with Climate Change. Which some of us believe in. It is time to act. We will hear things today where you will say congestion pricing. With what kind of alternatives for people . You cant just price people off the road. The hedwig and solve the congestion. Is a person doesnt set their schedule to go to work and they dont have a lot of options. Unless you build sufficient options, you cant just price people off the road. When elinor talked about 47 for 10 miles, 4. 70 per mile, that is like a chauffeured limousine lane. Who can afford that . In my own state we have freeways. We will deal with problems. It isnt even going to be like the hot lane. No one will have an option. You will either use it or not. What about diversion . Is going from the east side of portland to the west side to go to work . Sorry, it will take two hours. It will cost a bunch of money that you cannot afford. We need a comprehensive approach which is more federal investment. And we need to apply Smart Technology and 21st technology. Befitted traffic light, no one is coming. I was in pittsburgh, they have smart traffic lights. Realtime. Imagine that . We are still working with 19th Century Technology with needed traffic lights set by traffic engineers. The mess of them according to what they think traffic flows will be in the future which has nothing to do with reality. Im losing patience. The Senate Passed a bill with decent policy. And has a little more spending. The leaders have said it is impossible to pay for. If we dont pay we will waste more money every year youre in and out. Americans will get more frustrated. I hope it provides some ideas that will help mitigate these problems. We will not solve any problems. Track we passed the test act with no new money. I appreciate that. Raise the issue of the gas tax. How come, and red states, they are not afraid to raise the gas tax when they send people to congress who are. We are stuck on stupid when it comes to revenue. There overwhelmed by what needs to be done in the system. I am pleased that the senate controlled by the other side is looking at new revenue. I want to welcome the witnesses. Oliver gilbert the third who is the mayor of the city of Miami Gardens and chairman of the miamidade Transportation Planning organization. Travis brower, the assistant director of Public Affairs and the Oregon Department of transportation. To the executive director of the San Francisco county Transportation Authority on behalf of the Intelligent Transportation society of america. Darren hawkins, president and chief executive officer of worldwide inc. , on behalf of the American Trucking association. Timothy lomax, regents fellow at texas a m Transportation Institute. Also mark scribner, senior fellow at the competitive enterprise institute. I want to thank all of you for being here. I look forward to your testimony. Before we hear from the panel, i would like to recognize miss wilson and introduce mayor gilbert, a constituent from her district. Thank you. I am honored to introduce my personal mayor. The mayor of Miami Gardens which will host the 2020 super bowl and chair of the miami dade Transportation Planning organization, mayor oliver gilbert. When i heard the subcommittee was having a hearing on congestion, mayor gilbert was the first witness that i knew i had to recommend. He is a young lawyer with a long and distinguished career in Public Service that began as an aid in the florida legislature. He was regarded as an astute staff for both legislatively and political the. Within a decade, he became the mayor of the city of Miami Gardens. As mayor he launched several successful initiatives to increase access to Public Transportation and improve mobility. One such initiative is the Miami Gardens express. A Free Trolley Service that many residents depend on. s accomplishments as mayor and leadership on transportation issues, compels the colleagues to elect him as their chair in 2019. He oversees the implementation of the county strategic miami area rapid transportation mark plan. A multibilliondollar Infrastructure Investment program to reduce congestion and spur Economic Growth. Mayor gilbert, welcome to congress. Thank you for testifying today and for your leadership on transportation issues that greatly concerns floridians and others throughout the nation. Thank you madam chair. I would like to now recognize, congresswoman davis to introduce mr. Hawkins. Thank you madam chair and. I would like to take the opportunity to interview darren introduced darren hawkins. Is afraid Holding Company based in the third Congressional District in Overland Park kansas. They employ 24,000 drivers and dockworkers that are members of the International Brotherhood of teamsters. The trucks travel more than 900 million miles annually in the United States. More than 1700 drivers have more than 1 million consecutive accident free miles. Why rcw has a long history and has long been important in the kansas city metropolitan Area Business community. We are proud to be represented in hearing your testimony today. I appreciate you taking the time to be here. It is a pleasure to have you. Without objection, the full statement will be entered into the record. The testimony will be made part of the record. The subcommittee request that you limit your testimony to fiveminute. Mayor gilbert, i ask you to proceed. I would be remiss if i didnt start by saying 18 years ago this country was attacked. I stand in awe of you also serve as andaman and william women in the military and what they do for us around the world to ensure we can be here in this room having this discussion. I think you all. Good morning, chair norton, Ranking Member davis, chair defazio and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I like to think my congresswoman crawford rica wilson for service to the district. I standards are mayor and resident in awe of her service and example she sets with the community. Also the chair of the money dewey county Transportation Planning organization. Im also the mayor of Miami Gardens. Also the proud mayor of the dolphins. I am longsuffering. I am here to tell you, roads are not just pathways or as well, there pathways to something greater. The metrorail in Miamidade County carries a young boy from Miami Gardens to Miami Law School every day. It was responsible for him being the mayor of his hometown, Miami Gardens. I stand before you in large part because someone invested in meaningful and efficient Public Transportation. Today i advocate that we pay the brilliance forward and find ways to expand rail, create dynamic transportation, reduce congestion and promote conservation of and the planet. I would like to share how we are starting to address this in miamidade and how you can partner with us to make transportation an instrument of Economic Development and job creation. In Miamidade County, traffic is an impediment, not just to growth economically but to development as a community. The expressway system has reached its limit and we have no room to build out of congestion. This is why we are providing travel choices and alternatives that include express lanes and expanding transit through the miamidade smart plan. A Rapid Transit plan for the future. 95 express has been in operation for 10 years. It has reduced overall congestion and increased traffic flow. The miamidade region has the fourth largest population with the 12th ranked area for congestion, probably due to the use of express lanes and. Bird service has been highly successful with ridership rising 48 percent in the first two years. We plan to expand the network as part of the smart plan. In support of the Value Pricing Pilot Program in the leadership who was in the Florida Senate allowed us to pilot the 95 express project and convert hov lanes to hlt lanes. We improved our likings on hours of driver delay from 10 12, even as population grew which is remarkable. It is not to say congestion isnt a problem. The express lanes improved with for all lanes. Including the nontoll lanes which is also significant. Express lanes help. The best longterm remedy for relieving congestion is through the expansion of Rapid Trans