Noting that $7 trillion worth of commodities moved on U.S. highways in 1998, California representative Juanita Millender-McDonald introduced "The Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance" bill. She notes that the volume of goods in the U.S. is projected to grow 67% over the next two decades, placing significant burdens on seaports, trade corridors, highways and rail lines.
"The transportation reauthorization bill is the perfect opportunity for us to address these pressing transportation infrastructure needs," Millender-McDonald told Congress. "TEA-21 began to address goods movement issues with the creation of the Borders and Corridors Program," she continued. "But we need to take this need further during this reauthorization." She has proposed increasing funding for corridors and gateways to $3 billion annually. During the first three years of TEA-21, requests for funding for the Borders and Corridors Program ran at a ratio of $15 of request for each dollar authorized - a need of at least $2 billion, according to the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors.
Millender-McDonald's bill includes a criteria process that will ensure increase funding in focused on initiatives that help expedite the movement of freight.
