American Journal of Transportation |
December 5, 2019
Addressing a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Executive Director Erin Aleman testified calling for a minimum annual federal investment of $12 billion in our nation’s multimodal freight infrastructure. Setting the stage for 2020 reauthorization, she encouraged Congress to continue their support and oversight of the Act’s competitive grant programs like INFRA to ensure they are implemented in accordance with Congressional intent.
Aleman, a Member of the Coalition for America’s Gateways & Trade Corridors Board of Directors (CAGTC), represented both CMAP and the Coalition at the hearing before the Subcommittees on Highways and Transit and on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials titled, “Where’s My Stuff?: Examining the Economic, Environmental and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation.” Pointing to the inextricable link between freight infrastructure investment and the long-term health of our national economy, Aleman stated, “We must focus on the system as a whole, rather than viewing our nation’s transportation infrastructure as several different systems that occasionally interact. We must think in terms of an entire network, interconnected and interdependent.”
CAGTC’s diverse geographic membership offers an often sought, authoritative voice on freight infrastructure representing the many modal needs across the spectrum. A strategic freight mobility program that prioritizes the current economic needs of our country is needed to improve the nation’s competitiveness and respond to a changing economy.
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