monday we'll explore the 1896-case of plesse, he was arrested in new orleans for taking a seat on a train car reserved for whites. the supreme court's 7 to 1 decision, allowed segregation through most of the 20th century. this narrow interpretation of the 14th amendment wasn't overturned until the brown versus board of education decision desegregating schools. our #landmarkcases. follow us on cspan and there are lots of background on each case and why you can order the landmark cases -- where you can order the landmark cases books and find out the links. go to cspan.org/landmarkcases. next state and local transportation officials talk about transportation infrastructure needs and

modernization efforts. they testified at a senate commerce science and transportation subcommittee hearing chaired by senate doug fisher of nebraska. good afternoon, i'm pleased to convene the senate subcommittee on merchant and marine safety and security. our hearing titled rebuilding infrastructure in america, state and local transportation needs will give us the opportunity to better understand the state of our surface transportation infrastructure. many of us hear from our constituents about the poor infrastructure in the united states. their concerns have been confirmed by numerous studies, including the often cited infrastructure report card from the american society of civil

engineers, which gave us u.s. infrastructure a d-plus in 2017. research by the american transportation research statute shows congestion on our roads cost the trucking industry $63.5 billion in 2015. more broadly, a recent "wall street journal" article reported that traffic congestion can cost an american family about $1,400 each year. the federal government plays an important role in developing and maintaining a continuous transportation system across country which has become the artery of commerce for the united states. however, the system would not work without state and local governments, which do the majority of the work to define, construct, and maintain our infrastructure. themersion's recent infrastructure includes a number

of ideas to include our infrastructure. i'm particularly pleased to see proposals for project permitting and streamline in what is a particularly burdensome process for state and local governments. according to the congressional research surface, major federal highway projects can take as long as 14 years from start to finish. it took less time to build the panama canal and we did that more than a century ago. red tape increases the time it takes to build infrastructure projects and time is money. the costs associated with delay weighs heavily on taxpayer resources frequently with little benefit to show for it. by reducing unnecessary regulations, the administration's proposal would speed up the process for project approval and construction. several provisions of the proposal recognize that states and localities know the needs of their constituents best and they

should be given greater authority over the define approval and construction of projects. i was pleased to see products made in rural states like nebraska to make it around the world. we have to ensure our systems across the country are in good condition. dedicated funding supports these systems which means nebraskans and the products we make can make it to where they need to go. now that the administration has put forward a proposal it's time for congress to put pen to paper. i look forward to working with my colleagues, the administration and all steak holders and user of -- stakeholders and crafts that brings our infrastructure to the 20th century. there are ideas to address the revenue around infrastructure

investment. last year i put forward a proposal that aims to address the funding shortfall and modernize our infrastructure system. my build usa infrastructure act would ensure the soladvancy of the highway trust fund for five years following the expiration of the fast act. by dedicating revenue collected by customs and border control by tariffs and others, my bill utilizing double fund for the infrastructure. under my proposal, states account enter into remittance, in exchange for state purview of design, permitting, and construction of federal aid highway projects. by using the resources that are

currently available, more efficiently, we can stretch our current federal aid dollars to improve and command our infrastructure system. we have several witnesses before the committee today that can speak directly to the needs of states and localities. they represent both those who build our infrastructure and those who rely on its proper maintenance. i'm pleased the director of the nebraska department of transportation is here to provide insight on nebraska's innovative work and transportation policy. i have to cough because nebraska always had a nebraska department of roads. i look forward to the testimony of my witnesses and i would invite senator peters to give his opening remarks. senator peters. >> thank you senator fischer, and our witnesses to share your

thoughts on a fairly critical issue and how to upgrade the crumbling infrastructure. i want to give a special welcome to the president and ceo of the michigan municipal league and national league of cities. he's a leader in the field of urban revitalization, place making, local government reform and transportation policy, and leading advocate in lancing, michigan, as well as here in washington for the league's membership of 520 cities, villages, and townships. he's a resident of detroit in northville, michigan, so welcome to the hearing today. our state of michigan is undergoing a state of renaissance and helping the united states maintain its competitive edge by leading in the development of transformative technologies including self-driving vehicles, artificial intelligence and

robotics. billions of dollars are being invested and thousands of dollars in manufacturing, logistics, ask transportation are being created at will, to help support the middle class of america for decades to come. to prepare if this future, the michigan department of transportation is working with local governments to rethink their roads, intersections, and pedestrian walkways in light of self driving vehicles and increase presence of on demand ride sharing networks. the state has installed over 100 dedicated short range communication roadside units throughout the state for vehicle and infrastructure connectivity. technology that'll make driving on our roads exponentially more safe, as well as efficient. michiganders are starting with a foundation ranked dead last by survey conducted by the american

society of civil engineers of the infrastructure in 27 states. systemic maintenance has left residents with dangerous pothole roads and bridges, sinkholes that swallow houses and closed beaches. the 21st infrastructure commission determined an additional $4 billion will be needed annually just to maintain our current d-plus status. michigan's infrastructure challenges are shared by its neighbors throughout the midwest and across the country. and how does president trump suggest that we tackle this challenge? the president sent us a proposal that requires cash-strapped state and local governments to simply foot the bill. rather than having the federal government step up as a reliable partner, president trump's plan continues the problem by once again passing the buck. i'm very concerned this will result in more local tolls, fare

increases and local tax hikes. it's not fair what the opportunities will get in return, and depend on the ability of states and localities to raise new revenues while smaller communities will be left behind. this issue is very personal to me. my state knows all too well the devastation that can result when we don't properly invest in our infrastructure. in flint, michigan, the city and the state wanted to cut costs. they knew the pipes carrying the water were in horrible disrepair, but rather than spending $1 million up front to upgrade the city's water system, it was treated as an expenditure that needed to be reduced. by switching the water source to the ploouted water to polluted to save money, the

crisis turned into a federal problem and became a prime example to provide services to families come homes. all of these communities need a strong federal partner on the front end, not after something terrible has happened. my state of michigan is showing us all what a future innovation of economy and its corresponding infrastructure could look like but the current realities of our roads and prolonged economic recovery of many of our towns and cities show the don't which progress could be slowed or not at all if something akin to president trump's proposal is enacted. communities like flint, detroit, atlanta, and philadelphia can't do this simply on their own. i look forward to hearing from all of you today on how congress with work in a bipartisan fashion to make the right investments right now so we can be a partner to our cities and

states who desperately need a partnership. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator peters. at this time, i'd like to introduce each member of the panel and after my introduction for you, if you could give your opening statement and try to limit it to about five minutes, we can of course include the entire statement in the record. first, i'm very pleased to introduce kyle schneiweise, the direct of the nebraska department of transportation. director was appointed in june of 2015. he has nearly 20 years of experience in the transportation field, including work in both the public and private sector. he has the background in civil engineering, transportation policy, and consulting. welcome, sir. >> chairman fischer, members of

the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. i'm the director of the nebraska department of transportation, senator, thank you. because of the nebraska central geographic location serve as a key link in the transportation network. with the highways being crucial corridors for the transfer of goods and commodities all across the country, nebraska is home to some of the largest railroad and trucking operations, making the important move of goods imperative. the state agencies are focused on making government more efficient, more effective and improving customer service for nebraska nns. our governor and state legislature has been very active on transportation issues in recent years. passing legislation to prioritize funding for infrastructure and given our

agency the tools to streamline product delivery. senate fischer called the build nebraska act was passed dedicating new capital infrastructure projects. in 2016, it created the state's first finance and infrastructure bank, which established programs to allow us to provide matching funds to lowicalities to address -- localities to address bridges, and design build. as a result of this strong leadership from elected officials in our state we've been able to move forward with plane projects that have been put on the shelf due to a lack of funding. a great example cell we are on track to complete -- example is weer track to address the state highway system. we did this by looking at critical revenue streams and

repurposing a portion of it for infrastructure, resulting in invest an estimated 1 hadn't $6 billion in projects over the next 20 years. finally the state legislature passed a bill to authorize the department to work with the federal highway administration to take on nipa responsibilities from the federal government. i believe we're 1 of 8 states and once the process is complete, it would inhibit our ability to deliver products. particularly administration's focus on making sure dedicated funding is available to rural states and further streamlining project requirements. additionally with the framework that has been put forward we see it as an opportunity to be creative in how we pay for products and create infrastructure beyond the methods. this means creative, outside of

the box thinking it needed if we're going to meaningful improve the national state of our which infrastructure network. i have a few key recommendations. the first is you make sure the funds tied to any infrastructure package have as few federal strings as possible. state legislatures can get people working immediately on projects. the president's plan proposes a $50 billion rural infrastructure program with $40 billion going to rural block grants and we are extremely supportive of this idea. the president has spurred discussions on seeking more dollars on state and local governments in relation to federal dollars and i think it's important to protect news the prior financial commitments that states have already made. many state legislatures including in nebraska raised the state gas station in the past few years to invest in infrastructure, asking states to enact additional revenue,

increasing -- revenue increase measures is not feasible and i would encourage any to have lookback provisions to give state and local provisions full credit for doing so. public-private partnerships are being discussed as options to provide federal funding, and based on the nature of our projects we have -- we, creating opportunities for incentives gives us another tool in the tool park and i would like to further streamline the permitting and approval process. while nebraska has taken steps to produce the steps to taken on nipa, it doesn't get us tied up in red tape. state d.o.t. should provide more opportunities to be associated in compliance with federal environmental permitting laws. doing so does not involve the state from serving as leading

stewards in a our for our federal dollars and ensuring on our environment my family and fellow citizens of nebraska live in remains protected. chairman fischer, member peters, thank you for the invitation to join you and i look forward to your questions. next we have president of manager of services where he's worked since 1999. he has a unique perspective in connection to infrastructure in the trucking, rail, and ocean transportation industries. welcome. >> chairman fischer and members of the subcommittee thank you for the hearing to testify in the hearing. ch robinson has a unique view of how goods and commerce flow

through the nation's infrastructure. i serve as president for services. i consider the impact on the supply chains. today i will provide insight on supply chains that keep executives up, as well as their thoughts on infrastructure mechanisms. their focus is to create cost-effective predictable supply chains. the average professional oversees a regional, national, or global logistics network. they want to keep them as close and lean as possible. private sector investment aloud supply chains to move more inventory with fewer trucks and yield management software focus on e figzfficient networks. there is little to no

underutilized capacity in our marketplace. the private sector addresses to continue to improve efficiency. it has not kept pace to match the needed reliability of the supply chain. here in the u.s., congestion is a serious concern. traffic delays have led to serious -- have led to slower throughput of inventory, and increased costs. our supply chain professionals recognize we're falling behind our overseas competitors. the 100 bottleneck report is a great place to invest in improved infrastructure. it's based on sound, supply chain fundamentals and highlights strong opportunities. our shippers and carriers are focused on parking. when weather events challenge truck drivers, some of our customers have begun hoping their yards not to drivers on

their own loads but to all truck drivers. we're encouraged by the provisions in machine 21 and encourage additional solutions in regard to possible trucks. and the state freight advisory committee, provided shippers an opportunity to more directly connect with state in for a structure planners. the advisory committee will solve the operating hours at the minnesota border. congress should continue to bolster and expand programs like this. another chair is resolving the confusion regarding the use of publically available data from the federal motor carrier safety administration. there are no requirements to check credentials.

they have consolidated the motor carrier to operate, resulting in many not checking qualifications. others may be using less important data which may unintentionally exclude small carriers. we encourage this committee to include a national hiring infrastructure in this bill. regarding federal freight funding mechanisms we encourage them to decouple funding in their thinking. bridge to buy time to the current diesel tax for free. the supply chain professionals prefer vehicle miles taxed compared to other proposals. while they may work well for autos, they provide administrative supply chains. toll roads can be challenging for workers to incorporate into pricing. ly, a propose will highway tax based on the cost would be

exceedingly complicated and worrisome to our nation's businesses. it would be easy to replicate the taxes for the transportation system, but we remain skeptical about a service act, and leading to the use as privately shipped infrastructure needs. our nation shippers and supply chain professionals are ready to significant new investment in our infrastructure. >> thank you, weather kass. next we have joe strang, the american shortly and regional railroad association. previously served as chief safety officer for the federal railroad administration, and provides an in depth knowledge of needs and regulatory policy.

welcome. >> thank you. thank you chairwoman fisher, ranking member peters and members of the committee. the association representing the nation's 600 class 2 and class 3 railroads and operate under 50,000 miles of track on nearly one-third of the nation's network. we handle one out of every four railcars that move through the system. we're small businesses, the average sides of a shortline railroad is 30 employees. the combined annual revenue is less than the annual revenues of any single one of the four largest railroad carriers. the branch line was headed for abandonment and invest on average 25% to 35% of their angyou'll revenues and infrastructure making shortline railroading one of the most

capital infrastructures in the country. there are thousands of shippers in rural and small town america, sometimes the only connection to the national network. to short line their needs congress enacted the tax credit is and renewed it up until 2016. we believe making the credit permanent is the most important thing congress can do to rebuild their portion of america's infrastructure. we know that many of you agree. 14 of the 17 members of that subcommittee including chairwoman fischer and ranking if member peters are sponsors of 407, the bill that would make the bill permanent. i than tax legislation is not the purview of this committee,

however, i urge you to take our tax message to your senate colleagues whenever and however the infrastructure is addressed in which this congress. with regard to that let me come in on several programs and provide thoughts on infrastructure in general. we think with the level playing field, short line projects will perform well. the safety technology grants which can potentially be helpful to implement and pay for positive train control. we're leesed to see the u.s. d.o.t. issue its first chrissy bill last month. in fy 18-19 appropriations. we think additional work would work to develop an in industry

structure package. we support the tiger grants. while the analytical hurdles serve small shippers, short lines succeeded in securing numerous grants over the life of the program and would be supportive of a significant expansion in a my infrastructure package. we would suggest the expanded small project components would be needed and a removal of the arbitrary unit on how many can be spent on high cost programs. many of you are enemy with the risk loan program and the money efforts both by congress and republican and democratic administration to improve the program. efforts have done that with limited success. >> we believe while roads it be closed, we believe it should

never be a significant solution to short line rail rehabilitation experts and will not use to put together an infrastructure peculiar annual. we believe there are three general provisions that will be important for short line participation. short line should be directly eligible for project grants, similar to chrissy. the process needs to be system and he will transparent. they don't have grant writers and the resources to expire comprehensive consulting firms. this there as well not be a one-size fits all process. the benefit cost analysis for in c mental -- incrementa larksal

to encourage another federal railroad line, and from the track rehabilitation, the best way to improve safety and i thank you for the opportunity and appreciate any questions you may have. >> talk, ms. strang. next we have dan billmartin, executive director and ceo of the municipal league and focus on the place making leadership council. welcome sir. >> thank you. good afternoon fischer, and members of the subcommittee. i'm thankful to speak with you today about rebuilding and reimagining our infrastructure. weept 19,000 cities and towns of all sizes across the country. first let me commend the committee and senator peters in particular. second and yesterday, a report

was released bridging the urban rural economic divide, highlighting the importance of connections, such as infrastructure connectivity and market being sesz to create sustainable greg and stage the gap between urban and rural america. cities are your partner in for a structure. local governments own, operate, and maintain 78% of the nation's road miles, 43% of the nation's federal aid highways. 50% of the nation's bridge inventory, 95% of the nation's water and wastewater investments and we support our vital, local transit programs, as well. we believe a national comprehensive infrastructure bill is essential. it should support five guiding principles. one, sustainable investment. together, cities and our federal partners must address the existing core infrastructure backlog. we experience long-term funding and use new technologies that

will serve america's cities for the next 100 years. without sustainable funding we continue to manage the decline of our transportation networks. two, locally different projects. local leaders should be given a strong voice in decision-making as they are best positioned to identify where infrastructure grants are needed. the silos of the past are not those that are needed for the network, and included for the authentic, vibrant local enterprises that bring local economic every day. three, federal local partnership. cities across the country are investing billions in there own resources and need a federal steady partner to exit in national programs and make significant investments for the benefit of the economy. having a reliable source of funding will allow local

communities to properly plan and build for the future. fourth, expand revenue tools. cities should be given more flexibility to raise revenues and use innovative financing techniques while protectingly existing tools. we stand ready to work with you to identify new opportunities. and fifth, to rebuild and reimagine. we are investing in inner modal, sustainable and interconnected places people want to live, learning with work, and play in. congress should invest in cities' visions to rebuild and reimagine america's infrastructure ultimately boosting economies across the country. we believe these principles form the bases is for the next infrastructure investment. every day we wait our infrastructure gap band grows. a radio in detroit recently

described life like this, broken rims, torn tires, endless commutes, waiting on the side of the freeway for overworked tow drivers. i can tell you this is true as somebody who drives those roads. today cities are reinventing my state and we're doing our part. residents responded by 80% of the mail-in ballots. the legislature raised the gas tax and increased legislature fees. now is the time for the federal government to partner with us and pass an infrastructure package that provides cities if michigan and those across america with the reliable transportation that work for the 21st century. we know bridging the 2 trillion dollar shortfall won't be easy and we make a significant -- take a significant commitment from every level of government,

federal, state, and local. we cannot watch our major infrastructure systems break down in slow motion. we must address the significant workplace pipeline gaps across all sectors that build our roads, main tan our bridges, and operate our wastewater systems. america's intrañ structure system is being pushed to its limits and the time to act is now. we ask you to cash with us and take the necessary steps to rebuild and credit build america's in center structure as a modern -- infrastructure as a modern, safe, and efficient model for the world. i thank you for the opportunity. >> thank you very much. we'll begin our first round of questions now, and thank you panel for your opening statements. director i'm glad you mentioned nebraska's work to include nipa authority. during a recent summit environment and public works committee hearing, secretary chow hoped to have the m.o.u.

between nebraska and the federal highway administration fined shortly. can you elaborate on the benefits to nebraska you believe will result from assuming this authority and double the assumption process account serve as a model for other permitting authorities? >> thank you chairman fischer. we are entering the final stages of the negotiation. we've been very pleased with the approach that federal highway has taken with us both locally and hear in washington. we've gotten a lot of support as we try to enter into this agreement. for us it's really a matter of saving time and saving money. we have the experts that dot work and to ask them to do the work and hand it over for federal review and on the federal side throughout the life of the project adds time we don't feel is necessary. we think we'll be able to shave off a lot of time and therefore save money on our projects.

i do think state d.o.t.s are uniquely positioned to assume some of these responsibilities and i think there are opportunities to look at other areas. i would encourage looking at for example, section 404 with the corp of engineers, it's something we issue 30 to 50 permits a year. we have experts who do this every day and i think we could do this for a way that meant the obligations. >> have you had an opportunity to look at a bill -- i don't know if it's been introduced quite yet that deals with section 404? i recently signed on to that. >> i have seen it, yes, and i don't want to mess up the details but it seems like something we would be very much in support of. >> and if you had the opportunity to look at other states who have assumed the nipa authority, there's number of them that i think -- six to

eight that currently have it? >> correct. >> and what has been their experience? >> i think it's been very positive and there is a fraternity with the state d.o.t. the states are often very eager to assist us and some folks from ohio came to nebraska and spent a lot of time with us helping think through the decision. california is there. the folks have done it have found it to be successful. >> you've had a good working relationship with the federal highway administration on that? >> yes, senator the federal highway has been very supportive of this effort. >> thank you. thank you. i was very happy to see the lincoln tiger grant for the beltway project and generally nebraska has done better under the formula funding than we have under a grant or any kind of

financing programs ago i hope to see nebraska better compete in the future for those. can you talk about the importance of maintaining the highway trust fund and the formula funding programs to our state? >> sure. we were very pleased with the news on the tiger grant after decades of submissions to be on the receiving end is very exciting. i think it provides the government to partner, maybe tran sending boundaries. a lot of money spent preserving 10,000 miles of highways. that's a key component for us, taking care of these roads and bridges. >> mr. gilmartin, could you elaborate on the importance of that consistent, long-term funding, the city's abilities to plan for future transportation

projects? >> absolutely. it's not a lot different than in private business where having long-term sustainable partnership is something you've got to look at. when we talk about building infrastructure we're talking about roads and brings and other things that -- looking at in 20, 30, 40, 50 years. understanding you've got a partnership, you have a source of renew, you have a program you can use over the long shall very important. these are not one year and two year decisions. they play out over decades. >> thank you very much. senator peters? >> thank you, madam chair. mr. gilmartin, i'd like for you to talk about where we are in michigan and as i mentioned, in the opening comments where we are is not that you will different from every other state in the country and certainly in the midwest and particularly those of us who have a lot of change in seas and wear and tear -- in seasons and wear and

tear on roads, that adds to the cost. paint a picture in terms of where we are in michigan. you mentioned some tax increases that have occurred throughout the day but what are you hearing from our local cities and townships in terms of the extent of the problem we face in our state upon? >> our transportation infrastructure is as bad as it ever has. we start kicking up those potholes. we're all kind of used to that but this year is a special kind of ugly on michigan roads. it has done gone from difficult to sometimes frightening, to drive downloads, the quote from wwj is real real. i've experienced that myself. guys pull over all the time. i've had to pull off to check my front end because of the impact

of potholes that we've hit. a colleague of mine had a baseball sized piece of concrete cut through his grill last week. i had a member of my staff kind of traveling to a meeting out of the office because of perceived lack of safety on the roads and i didn't blame then. that's kind of where we're at. i can give you a lot statistics. the repeat report is a d-minus. the grades there looked like when dean warmer brought in the brothers from delta house to give their grade point averages in "animal house", everything was bad and we see that consistently throughout our state. and i guess to go beyond they talked a lot in my testimony about the importance of reimagining our infrastructure. we see differences in economies, we see differences in our people are excusing to transport

themselves, how they want to move around within regional economies, and we've got to be building for new, as well. so we're sort of at that space that i talked about where we're in a real jam. we've got to prepare ourselves for new economies as we move forward. >> i'm going to want to talk about that if not we may have another round to talk about more, but as you're talking about the state of the roads which are horrible, i'm back every weekend and i can assure you everything you're saying is accurate. i think a couple weeks ago when i was home i was welcomed with a picture in the local newspaper that had a -- i believe it was a deputy sheriff standing in a pothole and it was up to his waist. that would swallow a car if they got into it, as well. we're talking about infrastructure, roads and bridges. i mentioned flint in my opening comments. what else are you hearing from cities and villages when we talk about infrastructure we can't

have just roads and bridges, we're talking about underground, broadband to be able to connect. what are some of the challenges you're hearing from our cities and towns? >> just that, senator. we see -- we first started seeing real problems in our core communities, in our communities suffering economically, and we've begun seeing that maybe a decade, decade and a half ago. we begin seeing it in the growing areas, as well. infrastructure is enstructure. if you're -- infrastructure. if you're a little bit younger in terms of roads and bridges and pipes then you'll be dealing with it in the future. we've come to a point in michigan this is a problem from east to west and north to south. it's very obvious in some of the urban areas where it's just more contained and the scale is

larger but i don't know of a single local official in our membership that is not really pushing to do something infrastructure wise and that's just on the fix it end. when we start talking about drawing jobs we've got to do different things as we move forward, whether that's roads, water, the flint situation is something i've been working with a lot with the city council and the mayor. it's tragic and it was -- the decisions and we could get into that forever, but a lot of that was driven by the fact there wasn't enough money to support the infrastructure that was there because i'm sure my colleagues on the panel will attest the easiest thing to do is to build a road. the hard thing is maintain it for 30 years and rebuild it 30 years later. when we find out without proper financing, poor decisions get made, maintenance gets deferred and we wind up in real problem areas.

>> we've made changes at the state, we these to do a better job, as well, but this effort requires all three levels and we need the federal government to step up and play the traditional leadership role they've played for a long time. >> thank you. >> senator hassan. >> thank you madam chair and good afternoon to our witnesses. thank you-all for being here. i'm reminded with the discussion we've been having of advice a very wise businessman gave me is

always differentiate between expenses and investment and when we were talking about infrastructure we're talking about the importance of investments so over time we keep our expenses on things like maintenance and repairs lower. i wanted to talk for a minute, about our nation's bridges. infrastructure is obviously a serious challenge across the country. we're hearing it from all of you.