By now weve seen the reports in the resulting collapse of section i85 northeast of atlanta. This is a critically important piece of our system which carries over 400,000 cars a day. With that volume of traffic, its amazing there wasnt any loss of life in this incident. I commend the state and local officials for responding so quickly to the crisis. I want to commend the u. S. Department of transportation for acting quickly to release funds, emergency funds and provide assistance. Were here to examine the implementation of the fast act of state and local partners. Its the first long term surface transportation reauthorization bill in a decade and its Important Foundation for building a 21st century infrastructure. As a fiveyear bill provides very much needed certainty and funding so that our nonfederal partners can make smart longterm investments. The fact that fast act is a forward looking law that puts an emphasis on project of National Existence streamlining project delivery and icnnovative solution. State department and Transit Systems and local entities have the important task of delivering transportation projects to the communities. As they carry out these projects, the witnesses have a firsthand view of how federal transportation policies are being implemented by the u. S. Department of transportation. We look forward to building 21st century infrastructure with our state and local partners. Now recognize Ranking Member, the subcommittee for your opening statement. Thank you very much. Grateful for this subcommittee hearing. I think it indicates that our subcommittee wants to get behind all of the interest that weve heard on infrastructure and see what we can really do we know that a large infrastructure package idea, the idea of a large infrastructure package, which is on the minds of many in the administration and on our minds is not going to magically appear. We did a lot of, and ill say, deservedly so, a lot of self con garage lags when we passed the First Service transportation bill in ten years and i must say im very grateful, mr. Chairman, that it was a good bipartisan effort and i know you share with me the disappointment in order to get any increase whatsoever after ten years, we had to make a sixyear bill a fiveyear bill. I dont know how long we can keep that kind of disinvestment from going on. I say disinvestment, because if youre not even investing in a state of good repair, much less the new infrastructure we need, youre not investing, we are disinvesting and when i say disinvesting, remember how we built this country. Ever since this idea of the federal transportation infrastructure package was created by president eisenhower, the country has understood that you cant be a great country unless you continuously invest in insfra structure of various ki kind. The Congressional Budget Office tells us that we face a shortfall just over the next decade if were trying to continue to fund the fast act funding levels and it says we need 17 billion more a year than fast act levels at the federal level to improve our infrastructure and maintain a state of good repair reducing that backlog. Im very pleased that the president has said good things about infrastructure so i hastened to get a hold of his socalled skinny budget and was very disappointed to see really unheard of cuts to popular Transportation Programs. So instead of investing after my hopes had been raised, for example, in transit, urgently ne needed to alleviate congestion, president wants to stop all new investments in transit by cutting off the new starts program. Im grateful nevertheless by continuing bipartisan ship on this committee. I was pleased to sign a letter with chairman graves and the leadership of the full committee to urge the Appropriation Committee to fully fund all fast act programs. And the upcoming 2018 budget. Im still banking on a president who talks about a trillion dollars proposal, at least supporting us as we fight to maintain the meager funding levels we had. We know that the budget, im not terribly im not terribly pulling my hair out that the president cuts will go through because no matter who is president , the appropriators always rewrite the budget. Making projects more expensive than traditional funding mechanisms and regulatory reforms than making Real Investment and investors scepter approach will do little to improve infrastructure across the nation. You simply cant build your infrastructure and expect that toll roads will somehow pay for it. There must be a revenue stream and for the modern era in american life, it is always with this committee and subcommittee. Nor can we streamline our way out of inAdequate Funding, secretary child said recently, the problem is not money, imagine saying that about roads and transit. The problem is always money. She didnt say that, that was editorializing. It was the delays to permitting processes that hold up projects for years making them risky informsments are nationwide, undergo any rigorous Environmental Review and are exempt from rigorous levels of review. Also refutes the notion that more streamlining now is the prudent cost of action it concludes that additional streamlining provisions in the fast act are actually slowing down the department of u. S. Department of transportations ability to implement the project delivery accelerations put into map 21, in other words, streamlining measures on top of each other continues to believe that it helps us improve the ultimate project. Are crucial to the successful and expeditious advancement of transportation projects getting public im sorry, gutting Public Participation in the name of cutting red tape is something that will harm our roads and harm constituents who use our roads infrastructure. I dont believe we can reinvent the wheel when it comes to transportation and infrastructure, i just think theres no way around our obligation, as the congress of the United States to provide states and local governments with a funding and the flexibility that they alone know what to do with to smart and efficient projects, allowing the states who have the wisdom once we give them the money to go ahead. I very much look forward to todays witnesses ive read the headlines about atlanta. And i85 will be interesting to hear what we can do and what you can do on that unforseen circumstance. Thank you very much and i look forward to the testimony. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Now turn to Ranking Committee of the full committee. Thank you mr. Chairman, thanks for this important hearing. Ill just restate a few things because they do merit restating. We have a 836 billion backlog on that need, nearly 140,000 bridges need repair and replacement. Over 90 billion just to bring existing transit up to a state of good repair, let alone build out new transit options for people, yet we havent increased the user fee here in wds ashing, d. C. In the quarter of a century, over the past few years, 17 states have raised their gas tax and nobody has been recalled, nobody has lost their reelection and it has not been a controversy, the American People get it. Theyre tired of sitting in traffic. Theyre tired of blowing of blowing out tires and theyre tired of being detoured around weight limited or closed bridges. Theyre tired of the dekreped state of our mass transit. They want to see action. Im sending a letter to urge her to come down and work with congress to create a con sus around Real Investment and solutions for the nations infrastructure problems. Im hearing a lot of talk about infrastructure banks, private tax credits and were doing to streamline the federal approval process. Lets address that briefly. First off most p3s are projects a billion dollars or larger. Well have a rate of return. Well attract the investment. They have to be told of some other way to recoup the investment. Theyre generally 5 to 1 public money to private money. Now, the speaker has said he wants 401 private money to public money. That means no more p 3s. There are no investors are going to put up, you know, at a 40 to 1 ratio and do a p3. They generally put up 10, 15 at the most, and the rest comes from local bonding or state bonding, municipal bonds, whatever. So thats myth number one. Infrastructure, banks, private activity bonds, you know, those are new forms of local borrowing again they require a revenue stream, hence tolling or some other way of recouping the investment and, of course, they do increase the cost now secretary chow, unfortunately was given some alternate facts by somebody. Investors say theyre waiting to invest, so the problem is not money, its delays caused by permitting projects that hold up projects up years even decades making them risky investments. No, thats not the problem. In fact we made 42 major policy changes for streamlining in 21. Some of them have run into conflicts with the fast act we did streamlining and more streamlining on top of streamlining, lets get all of that implemented and see if theres still any issues. I dont think youll find many. In fact, more than 90 of the projects go for it which is basically filling out a few sheets of paper and might take you a month or two months at the most. That isnt the issue here. You cant streamline your way out of lack of funding. 4 of projects require Environmental Impact statements and as Ranking Member norton noted, most of those are held up at the local or state level because of controversies surrounding those projects redesign and other things which came out in hearings which are required under the process. Thats 4 of the projects. 96 dont even have to go through a rigorous Environmental Review. Recent report by the treasury looked at 40 significantly transportation water projects whose completion has been slowed or in jeopardy, prove positive about the streamline. No, the report found that a lack of public funding is, by far, the major factor hindering the completion of those projects. So plain and simple, a provision in the fast act that says if Congress Appropriates more money to transportation, it flows through the policies in the fast act. We dont need to spend a year or two rewriting the policies, arguing over transit highway split. Arguing how much goes here or there, arguing we dont have to go through any of the policy debate. All we need to do is have the guts to put up a little bit of money and thats why i introduced the penny for progress. As ive said before. If anybody around here thinks theyll lose their election, if they vote on something that caps the indexization increase at one and a half gallons a year, then you dont need it. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you. Hes testifying on behalf of the american state highway and transportation officials. We also have mr. Gary thomas who is president of the executive director of the dallas area rapid transit, hes testifying on behalf of the American Public transportation association. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman. As a representative from dallas im proud to introduce not only a friend and partner, but a good executive who is mr. Gary thomas, president and executive director of the dallas area rapid transit, which we call d. A. R. T. The largest growing metropolitan area in the country. He joined d. A. R. T. In 1988 and since grown it to the longest and largest at 93 miles long. Dart has become a leading example of how to effectively manage and grow flourishing Public Transportation. I happen to know they have strong relationships with our federal partners at us d. O. T. And the federal Transit Administration thanks to mr. Thomas. Hes effective at cultivating Strategic Partnerships to meet the needs of robust Transit Network in the dallas metroplex. With that, mr. Chairman, i am proud to introduce mr. Thomas to the committee with great anticipation to his testimony and his plea for money. Thank you, and i yield back. Its my distinct pleasure to recognize and welcome my friend kaseem reed mayor of atlanta. I can think of no better witness than to offer the honorable kaseem reed. When he first came into office, he balanced atlantas budget and took care of the challenge of the unfunded pension system, which had been languishing for many years, thats been taken care of successfully six years a ago. He has invested in hiring more Police Officers in atlanta. Our crime rate continues to go down. Mayor reed is the 59th mayor of the city of atlanta, serving in that capacity since 2010. Bipartisan way with federal stake holders on Economic Development and transportation issues. Atlanta experienced Economic Development and a population boom, for instance, his work work with governor nathan deal and the Obama Administration to obtain federal support for the port of savannah expansion project has resulted in much Economic Development for the atlanta region and for the state of georgia. Upgrading roads and bridges and improve the citys transportation infrastructure. The city of atlanta under mayor reeds leadership is undergoing a historic 2. 6 billion expansion of the metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority as well as expanding and completing such as atlantas belt line, which is a 22 mile stretch of trails and transit around the city on the this project has opened up a lot of Economic Development in terms of new housing and interconnected and also at the same time he has prosided over the opening of the Maynard JacksonInternational Terminal at the Atlanta Airport as altima chutlanta matures int class city. Hes overseeing a 6 billion expansion of the Hartsfield Jackson airport. Building a state of the art stadium world class facility with the retractable roof for the falcons. So much that we can talk about mayors leadership of atlanta. Hes leveraging the strength of partnerships with the state of georgia, college and universities in the private sector to build an innovative transportation infrastructure that ensures mobility and creativity for atlantas residents, businesses and visitors, all taking place while atlanta remains an affordable city where every day working people can afford to live, work and play. With that im proud to introduce to this committee, mayor kaseem reed. With that ill ask consent that our witnesses full statements be included in the record. Without objection, that is so ordered. Since your written testimony is going to be part of the committee, the committee will please ask that you limit your summary to five minutes. With that, mr. Patterson, well start with you. First we want to thank you, mr. Chairman, and other members of your committee for your leadership and efforts to increase the efficiency of delivering transportation projects cooperation with the federal government. They continue to seek opportunities and creates solutions dissolve the deteriorating Transportation System. All of us have come to realize traditional funding is important that serves as a partial solution to the problem. The fast authorization of 305 billion for federal highway, highway safety, transit, Passenger Rail programs from 2016 to 2020 could not have come at a could not have been timelier and transportation infrastructure. It involves reforms contained in both the fast act. It is our hope that congress will feel comfortable in seeking additional reforms that will provide further opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Transportation Programs and project delivery while remaining responsible stew wards of taxpayer resources and both human and natural environments. The days were a complete of ever increasing fuel efficient vehicles is nearing its end. What we consider what we consider innovative funding today must and will become a new normal for funding transportation. Until that time, it is imperative that the annual Obligation Authority and the fast act be fully honored, the structural cashflow deficit be resolved and the schedule of rescissions of Contract Authority be abolished. Even in todays environment of Financing Solution it remains imperative that direct funding of transportation investments remain the primary focus. That is because the Highway Trust Fund continues to remain at a crossroads. The Highway Trust Fund has provided stable, reliable and sometimes substantial highway and transit funding for deck ka since its inception in 1956, but this is no longer the case. Since 2008 it has sustained through a series. Has been sustained through a series of general Fund Transfers now amounting to 140 billion. According to the january 2017 baseline of congressional of the Congressional Budget Office, the Highway Trust Fund spending is estimated to exceed receipts by about 17 billion in fy 21 growing to about 4 billion to 2027. Its expected to experience a significant cash shortfall in 2021 since it cannot incur negative im sorry, since it cant incur negative balance. Estimate 40 drop from 2020 to the following year to 46. 2 billion to 27. 7 billion. In the past, such a similar shortfall situations have led to the possibility of reduction in federal reimbursements to states on existing obligations leading to a serious cashflo