Proposal underscores critical need for a national freight program

Legislation introduced by Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) helps underscore the growing recognition of the need to increase federal support for freight infrastructure.

The bill, the Freight FOCUS
Act of 2010 (HR 6291), calls for:

– creation of an Office of
Freight Planning at U.S. DOT, led by an Assistant Secretary for Freight
Planning;

– creation of a national
freight plan and a process for multimodal freight planning and prioritization
of funding;

– designation of Freight
Corridors of National Significance and the creation of corresponding corridor
coalitions; and,

– creation of a separate
Goods Movement Trust Fund to fund the nation’s freight needs.

"There is growing consensus
around a dedicated, federal freight program to address this country’s goods
movement needs," said Leslie Blakey, executive director of the Coalition for
America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC). "HR 6291 calls attention to the
system’s needs and will contribute to the important debate over how our nation
should go about providing for our goods movement system demands.

"CAGTC would like to thank
Congresswoman Richardson for her leadership on freight issues and her
commitment to addressing the nation’s goods movement challenges," Blakey added.

CAGTC has long called for a
multimodal freight program and dedicated funding to pay for goods movement
projects of national and regional significance.

The Coalition for America’s
Gateways and Trade Corridors is a diverse coalition of more than 60
organizations dedicated to increasing federal investment in America’s
intermodal freight infrastructure. In contrast to single mode interests, CAGTC’s
main mission is to promote a seamless goods movement transportation system
across all modes to enhance capacity and economic growth.