Dear Chairman DeFazio:
On behalf of the West Coast Competitiveness Coalition, we write to express our support of the Marine Transportation System Emergency Relief Act of 2020 (H.R. 7515). The creation of an emergency relief program for the maritime supply chain represents a long overdue advancement
in relief funding for our critical infrastructure sector.
Caltrans Announces Release of 2020 California Freight Mobility Plan
As the national gateway for international trade and domestic commerce, California exemplifies the world’s most innovative, economically-competitive, multimodal freight network that is efficient, reliable, modern, integrated, resilient, safe, and sustainable, where social and environmental impacts are considered equitably.
In collaboration with various State, regional and local partners, public and private sectors, and the members of the California Freight Advisory Committee (CFAC), Caltrans developed the California Freight Mobility Plan 2020 to provide a long-term vision for California’s freight future. The CFMP is a comprehensive plan that governs the immediate and long-range planning activities and capital investments by the state with respect to freight movement. This multimodal freight transportation system facilitates the reliable and efficient movement of goods while ensuring a prosperous economy, social equity, and human and environmental health. The CFMP also complies with California State Government Code Section 13978.8(b)(1) (Assembly Bill 14, Lowenthal) and the freight provisions of the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) which requires each state that receives funding under the National Highway Freight Program to develop a State Freight Plan.
House transportation bill fails to unite when it is needed most
BY IAN JEFFERIES, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 06/30/20 11:45 AM EDT
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed a $500 billion surface transportation bill along party lines. It moved to the full House of Representatives as part of a larger, $1.5 trillion infrastructure package.
At a time that desperately calls for politicians to come together to meet pressing challenges, including infrastructure, the bill woefully misses the mark. Throughout the crafting of the bill and even during the markup, past precedent of bipartisan collaboration was largely absent.