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.