The Miller Center of Public Affairs held the inaugural David R. Goode National Transportation Policy Conference entitled "Beyond Stimulus: Toward a New Transportation Agenda for America" from September 9-11, 2009. This policy conference of recognized experts, co-chaired by former Secretaries of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta and Samuel K. Skinner, was convened in order to facilitate, at a critical time, original and necessary thinking about the financing, governance, and management of America's transportation infrastructure.
The formulation of a conference report designed to capture the informed and non-partisan discussions that took place during the conference is now underway. The report is scheduled for release in 2010.
Three years ago, Americans celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System - one of the proudest achievements of Twentieth Century America. Our pride was tempered, however, by conspicuous evidence of our transportation system's steady deterioration, and its diminishing capacity to support America's economic growth. Before the onset of the recession, bottlenecks in all transport modes had begun to compromise both the quality of people's lives and America's global competitiveness. Today, the transportation system's deficiencies will almost certainly impede the pace of economic recovery.
A system launched with a bold and historic vision half a century ago is now characterized by pork and political opportunism. Financing models that once served America well are no longer sustainable. Stimulus funding will add capacity in some communities and will bring other elements of the system into a state of better repair, but will not provide the efficient, scalable, state-of-the-art transportation system necessary to drive future economic growth. What's needed is nothing less than a fundamental overhaul of America's transportation policies and programs.
While these conclusions have been the subject of a broad consensus among transportation policy thinkers for some time, and despite the growing prominence of transport infrastructure as a central element in the stimulus effort, Congress has been unwilling to treat transportation program reform as a front-burner issue. The most recent authorizing legislation for our surface transportation programs was finally signed into law two years late. Congress is already a year and a half late in reauthorizing America's aviation programs at a time when more stable and predictable funding for the "NextGen" modernization of our air traffic management system is critically needed. It would be naive to think that, absent some action-forcing event, the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress are likely to address reform in a meaningful way. Indeed, the availability of new, off-budget stimulus funding, by engendering a highly visible surge in work on transport infrastructure, may well reduce the near-term pressure for reform and make it even less likely that we'll make the hard decisions we need to make.
The agenda, panelist biographies, and a copy of briefing materials sent to all conference participants can be found at the links below.
Press coverage:
"Transportation Policies Have Miles to Go and Not Much Time" (Washington Post)
"Legislation for a 21st Century Transportation System Doesn't Come Easy" (New York Times)
"Reconsidering the Current Paradigm: Notes from the Miller Center Transportation Conference" (Innovation News Briefs)
"The Selling of Transportation Reform" (Innovation News Briefs)
"Consensus on National Transport Goals Still Eludes Industry Pros" (dc.streets.blog.org)
"The 'Movie Ticket' Theory of Transportation Pricing" (dc.streets.blog.org)
Norman Y. Mineta
Norman Y. Mineta
Conference Co-Chair Norman Y. Mineta served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush from 2001-06. In that role, he guided the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency with more than 65,000 employees and the largest mobilization of a new federal agency since World War II. He was appointed Secretary of Commerce under President William J. Clinton, and prior to that, he was vice president of Lockheed Martin, where he oversaw the first successful implementation of the EZ-Pass system in New York State. Secretary Mineta was a member of Congress representing San Jose, California, from 1975 to 1995 and a former Chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Presently, he is the Vice Chairman of Hill & Knowlton, where he provides counsel and strategic advice to clients on a wide range of business and political issues, including transportation and national security.
Samuel K. Skinner
Samuel K. Skinner
Conference Co-Chair Samuel K. Skinner served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George H.W. Bush from 1989-91. As Secretary, Mr. Skinner was credited with numerous successes, including the development of the President's National Transportation Policy and the development and passage of landmark aviation and surface transportation legislation. He also was the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of USF Corporation, a former President of Commonwealth Edison Company and its holding company Unicom Corporation, and former Chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority of northeastern Illinois. Secretary Skinner also served as President George H.W. Bush's Chief of Staff. Presently, he is Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig LLP, where he consults with clients in areas that include state and federal regulatory matters, governmental matters, transportation issues, and corporate governance.
