Significant event in philadelphia with amtrak. I want to make sure i pass along our sincere thoughts and prayers. Hopefully have a speedy recovery. The other thing important for us to recognize, 1st responders were on. Immediately. Our deepest thanks. The other thing this is really bad always silver lining. We have the significant events in the United States. Up. You see people helping each other trying to recover can help people get out of the wreckage. That is inspirational. Talking about her experience she looks at her shoe and said, these are my shoes. That is what we need to be doing its. I just wanted to recognize that. Infrastructure week us dot we would hope that infrastructure week was a really. Linda solomon a lot of things. In todays world the whole package is important for us to recognize longterm importance of investing. Investing. We have been working hard for part three or four years now trying to get the country to push it up to look at Infrastructure Investment. Recently we unveil the study that we call beyond traffic. It is it is a 30 year framework looking at what could happen in transportation. When you had all that anchor put together you start thinking about what that looks like when it comes to transportation not just the issues for today but the demand for the future. Over the past six Years Congress is actually in transportation funding our program to 32 extensions command for those of you in the private sector you do not run your business two to three months at a time. In fact in transportation that is what we have been doing. One could argue was a 27 month extension, but that is not how you run a multibilliondollar your business. We some states have pullback for this construction season. Some of the projects. Its simply because they do not have the certainty that their federal partner we will be there this construction season. The timing is just not good if we dont extend beyond may 31st. We know the expiration is coming up in a couple of weeks. We we have to deal with that and the longterm approach. As you know, the administration under president obama has actually submitted a bill to congress we call it the grow america act. It is bold for the right thing to do. We have submitted to congress and said if you dont like are ideas we want to hear yours. If you dont like a pay we are prepared to chat with you about how we invest in our country. With that with that i will wrap up my comments. We are short on time. We want to be good federal partners mentioned the whole package. And we know that when we invest just take a look at any city where they have invested in light rail and what has happened from an Economic Impact of history is there. We know it. With that thank you for inviting us. Thank you for your comment. I do remember when we were working on these infrastructure bills and highway bills and all the others it was not just between republicans. Slater was hanging out in my office. I almost got him a desk because he stayed there so much. Get in the get in the house and the senate meet with the leaders and Work Together to get results. We have not had enough of that in recent years. Plenty of blame to go around when you sit down and talk it is amazing what you can accomplish. Come see. How about that . What do you say about this infrastructure week in transportation . It is good to be back in the transportation and infrastructure community. It is good to be back. I do i do not have the magic formula for you but i have some thoughts on the way that we can frame the issue in a way to maybe have a path to greater success than we have seen. I think that we all recognize the goal. You have members of congress that understand the need for investment infrastructure. You have passed what other issues a significant a significant hurdle of defining the problem and agreeing on the issue at hand. The problem is how to get there. As we no historically it has been difficult to come up with a longterm solution that adequately Fund Infrastructure needs. The Ranking Member did a fantastic job. Secretary mendez just made a great summary of the needs we have in the country. How do we move forward . First of all in congress there is a lack of understanding about the cost of uncertainty. I came to congress i was a businessman. New line about uncertainty of risk is a cost. The future we will always have a level of uncertaintys. To have to have the policy world put another layer of uncertainty on top of that is a cost our country. I would suggest members of Congress Need an education on the importance of that cost. People who make rational decisions. Investment infrastructure and how it creates opportunities. This issue that can reach a lot of members of congress. It is falling into the trap of an us versus them mentality. It is as being the United States of america and then the rest the world. The fact of the matter is there people on this panel will be able to offer real substantive details about how this works. Investment in infrastructure is a key factor. Other countries are investing in far greater percentages of gdp in infrastructure and even in this new Digital World and hightech Global Economy it turns out investment and basic infrastructure still matters. In some ways more so because you must be more efficient and productive. Transportation infrastructure is an important part of contributing efficiency. I am thrilled that this panel is framed in the context of competitiveness. In my opinion that is the framework in which congress ought to look at this issue which will hopefully create a path forward. Thank you. You can see why we are delighted to have you with us. He will be good and help find ways to get things done lets go to . We are all highway users and dont like gridlock in congress on the highways. We would like to hear from the. Of view of the highway users. This is such an important thing for Transportation System and a competitiveness thank you senator. It is a great honor to be here. Everyone so far has had a connection. I worked as a staffer for but schuster. It is an honor to be back. An organization that has been around for 83 years. The truckers rv industry the cyclists companies that rely on Logistics Companies that are involved in safety like 3 m basically sort of as highway chamber combinations highway chamber in Taxpayer League you pay the gas tax. The group of taxpayers want to raise the gas tax from 1956 until 2,008 we pay our full share the 100 of the federal program that built to build the interstate and pay for enough to pay for some of the things including Public Transit programs. We want to be responsible citizens pay our way and the key thing is imagine what our country would be like if we did not have a Highway Trust Fund to build the interstate system. Often we justify this program on the basis of jobs we are being shortsighted when we do that because what we need to talk about is the economics of what investment in roads and transit does the United States. We have a network of 4 million miles of roads only 40000 of which is on the interstate system. That carries 25 percent of the traffic in the country. National highway System National highway system carries 40 percent of the traffic and 3 percent of the roads. As a National Project that benefits every citizen and corner of this country to invest in this core system of federal interest is a nobrainer and we must pay for it will we all youve got to get past the idea that simply cutting out waste is everything we need. You do not get something for nothing. I am here on behalf of the road users to say we need to invest more willing to pay the user fee the cost and benefits. And we dont have too much time. We waste money in crashes. Its we waste of over 200 billion in traffic congestion, a lot of which can be addressed through targeted improvements. Through Technological Advancements groups like it is america. Costbenefit. Every 1 we invest. Costbenefit. We to drop from number one to 26 because we have lost sight a benefit cost. Of benefit cost. They are so afraid to say we have to pay a little bit more letting our country go to help. And and so on behalf of users and what we really need to do is bring more users in the conversation. The phone and Cable Companies that have trucks all over the roads every single one of them are hurt when they cant get to their products to market this week is important way to reach out to them. I appreciate the opportunity. We need more and better transportation. With all the Wonderful Companies doing Amazing Research deployment and Development Across this country we have to start with where we were when we 1st started talking about transportation, and i have been fortunate to have worked in the Trucking Industries and telecommunication with energy and now i am fortunate to be an so thrilled to be associated with Intelligent Transportation initiatives. If you look where you want to take the country we talked about congressman that we have to have good roads and good infrastructure and also we have to repair where we are. One of the things america has been extraordinary at his making sure we develop our intellectual capacity. That that is where i ts america and i ts american affiliates are coming in. In fact Infrastructure Development is an international issue. Where we are struggling now not just this week with infrastructure week we are struggling where struggling as a World Economy to figure out how america place within the World Economy in the World Investment in Infrastructure Development. I sat as a young child in the back of this hearing room and watched as my father came here year after year after year as chairman of the arkansas Highway Commission talking about lets look 20 years out 30 years out yes we must deal with the issues we have but lets also have foresight. For me to be able to sit here in this room and thank you to all of you do we want to say how long we have been friends . You smile when you mentioned your dad. We have to give them a little credit. Looking forward its how we sent technology and the Intelligent Transportation society of america is the nations Largest Organization dealing and Research Development and deployment of Intelligent Transportation. It is really about 1200 companies, public agencies, publicprivate Partnerships Research in academia coming together to say what save what are our issues now and what are the issues for the future that we can use technology to advance the problems . I have had several people their face goes Intelligent Transportation. Okay. That sounds neat. Well, what it is about is information and control technology that provide us accurate and realtime information that will help us to make sure that we go from talking about surviving incidents to preventing incidents. You could say that it is an ancillary development. The figure the congressman put out his enormous but as you look to what you do with not just fixing what we have but how you look forward to what we do in Intelligent Transportation society will help us use those resources of thinking and technology to move us forward. Forward. I no that there are a lot of things that people want to say. I just wish to. Out a lot of people are saying this is a future oriented thing. The department of transportation because judah connected Vehicle Safety pilot 3000 of 3000 of these vehicles are already out on the road and being looked at daytoday to figure out 9000 the 9,000, 20000 working with dot and others will push those programs out thank you. I have to tell story. I story. I cant afford one but my wife as a knew affinity. A lot of a lot of gadgets and backups the new warning systems. Once you used to this is a significant thing for safety and also before i before i call on you i must tell one other story. I was for all sorts of Transportation Systems but i had a little bit of hesitancy on mass transit and buses. Sitting next to jim and half we were in the process of trying to kill the mass transit part of it so we could put all that money and highways. Hillary clinton. [laughter] Hillary Clinton was on the committee and the conference she was taking the other side obviously representing new york. She came armed with the arguments, statistics, knocked it out of the park. Churches out but he. We are going to have to do this command we did command it was the right thing. Michael what do you have to say . Thank you. Appreciate that opening story. Inspire me a rally. It is a privilege to be here and talk about global competitiveness. Many cities were domestic and the makeup. We look at them now and they are International Companies from all around the world occupying businesses cities big and small. You think back in the petition choices were binary he drove your car or took transit. You today. Shared use bank, car circulator, commuter train and do all those things in a week. Live comfortably. Change how we move about our cities. As we look mayors and governors are regularly hearing from you Business People especially international wants. Have be sure my goods and services are going to be out we have to find an efficient way to user scarce resources and communities. A population booms to another hundred Million People. How will we make these things fit . That is by looking at all of this is a system. If we can put people in Public Transportation make it free about race to the other cities and dont have to continue to pay the everything. By doing by doing that we can build walkable communities and servers moving back. Repopulating with millennials and baby boomers saying i want i want to move downtown drive less and be more efficient and effective. As we look at these things will look at the ridership that is happening. Last year we set a record Public Transportation ridership 10. 8 billion trips were taken. The highest number since 1958 when eisenhower interstate highway system was 1st signed in the law alves was on the charts a tremendous amount of growth and ridership in transit. Of 43cent drop in gas prices in the 4th quarter of last year and transit ridership one of because it is a good thing. Some of the highest ridership increases were in cities under 100000 population. Many small cities the majority of transit funding comes from the federal government particularly in the role of capitol. Think about that. The role of federal debt is to provide the federal government does not build those things they fund them. Those dollars flow through to the private sector creating good, highpaying, good, technical jobs across the country. Creating jobs with the federal dollars beer making a huge impact on our economy as we look at what transit is doing creating a sense of place, downtown emergency to build new communities in but places like talents in phoenix and others and invest in transit. We. Were seeing billions and billions of dollars of knew investment. The local communities get it. Fortynine of those passed. 69 percent passage rate. The local share is there. This is a nationwide system and it has to Work Together. Passengers paying their affairs. The locals are stepping up. The state of good repair. You heard them talk about 86 billion backlog. Safely, reliably, dependably, a plan to keep our economy must invest in a state of good repair. We did a great event the other day. This is a great story. A national day of local advocacy. 350 organizations around the country came together with 150 events for more than 10 percent of sitting members of the United States congress get together and told the infrastructure story. Aviation transit roads highways came together to tell a story. It is critical it is critical that Congress Look at a multi year wellfunded surface transportation bill. Were looking at a hundred billion dollars for the next six years tech. That has been stagnant since 2,009 with just over 10 billion grow it make the investments in infrastructure. These dollars payout. A very hot topic. The four to one return on investment in transportation, the 50,000 jobs that were created or maintained. We have to look at what we need now. The time is now the need israels, the numbers show it command we must understand that now good enough is not good enough if we want to remain globally competitive in this world. You are just not passionate enough. After we got that mass transit legislation became a warrior for the mississippi gulf coast which i learned to appreciate against katrina. A different attitude. We are saving maybe the best for last. This is about this is about competitiveness. Michelle moore, senior fellow at the council on competitiveness. A lot of pressure. I certainly i certainly appreciate the opportunity and im grateful to represent the council on competitiveness. Ceos from leading corporations, labor unions and universities around this country who join the very Diverse Coalition