Ensuring Accountability and Oversight in Tolling
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
S. HRG. 112–762 PROTECTING COMMUTERS: ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT IN TOLLING HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND SECURITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION APRIL 18, 2012 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 80–594 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:32 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\80594.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas, Ranking JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BARBARA BOXER, California JIM DEMINT, South Carolina BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia MARK PRYOR, Arkansas ROY BLUNT, Missouri CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania TOM UDALL, New Mexico MARCO RUBIO, Florida MARK WARNER, Virginia KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire MARK BEGICH, Alaska DEAN HELLER, Nevada ELLEN L. DONESKI, Staff Director JAMES REID, Deputy Staff Director JOHN WILLIAMS, General Counsel RICHARD M. RUSSELL, Republican Staff Director DAVID QUINALTY, Republican Deputy Staff Director REBECCA SEIDEL, Republican General Counsel and Chief Investigator SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND SECURITY FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey, JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Ranking Chairman Member DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts JIM DEMINT, South Carolina BARBARA BOXER, California ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia MARK PRYOR, Arkansas ROY BLUNT, Missouri CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania TOM UDALL, New Mexico MARCO RUBIO, Florida MARK WARNER, Virginia KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire MARK BEGICH, Alaska (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:32 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\80594.TXT JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on April 18, 2012 .............................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Lautenberg .......................................................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 3 Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 4 WITNESSES Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ........................................................................................................... 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 Steve Grabell, Chief Financial Officer, NFI, on behalf of the American Truck- ing Associations (ATA) ......................................................................................... 8 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 Chris Plaushin, Director, Federal Relations, American Automobile Association (AAA) ..................................................................................................................... 15 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 Hon. Eugene A. Conti, Jr., Secretary, North Carolina Department of Trans- portation, on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) ................................................................... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 20 APPENDIX Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg to: Bill Baroni ......................................................................................................... 37 Steve Grabell .................................................................................................... 43 Chris Plaushin .................................................................................................. 46 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV to: The Port Authority of New York And New Jersey ........................................ 41 Steve Grabell .................................................................................................... 42 Chris Plaushin .................................................................................................. 45 Hon. Eugene A. Conti, Jr. ................................................................................ 47 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison to Hon. Eugene A. Conti, Jr. ................................................................................... 48 Letter dated July 24, 2012 to Patrick Foye, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and David Samson, Chairman, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV and Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg ........................................................................................... 48 Letter dated August 14, 2012 to Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV and Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg from Patrick J. Foye, Executive Director, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ............................................................ 49 Letter dated September 24, 2012 to David Samson, Chairman, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV and Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg ..................................................................... 62 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:32 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\80594.TXT JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:32 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\80594.TXT JACKIE PROTECTING COMMUTERS: ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT IN TOLLING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND SECURITY, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m. in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY Senator LAUTENBERG. Good morning and welcome all of you, and I appreciate the fact that our witnesses have joined us this morn- ing. We’ve got a lot to think about in terms of how toll revenues are derived. What’s the effect on them on the present infrastruc- ture? Does it enable us to maintain a currency in the functioning of these facilities? So, I’m pleased that you’re here, and our Sub- committee on Surface Transportation is the subcommittee that’s holding this hearing, and the purpose is examining toll policies throughout the country. With budgets tight and transportation infrastructure crumbling, states are desperately seeking revenues to fund transportation pro- grams. For as long as highways have existed, tolling has been a source of funding for projects and states are increasingly looking to tolling to support new infrastructure projects. Tolling, if done in an open and fair manner, can have economic benefits for a region; however, as we have seen recently, when authorities are not serv- ing the public interest, drivers and the public pay dearly. We’ve seen tolling authorities in Maine, Florida, and Pennsyl- vania involved in various scandals and cases of corruption, and in my home state, in our home state of New Jersey, we have reached crisis levels. Now, I’m not against tolling, nor am I against tolling authorities. I am proud to be a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority has built some of the greatest transportation projects in our country. These projects changed the Northeast, and New Jersey would not be the vibrant state it is today if we failed to make these investments. But when I was a commissioner, the toll to cross our bridges and tunnels was (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:32 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\DOCS\80594.TXT JACKIE 2 $2. In today’s money, it would be slightly more than $5. But today, the Port Authority tolls are out of control. It now costs $12 to cross between New Jersey and New York, and it’s short of a mile long, the George Washington Bridge. When it costs $12 to drive your car across a bridge in America, something is wrong. Now, the toll increase that we’ve just seen from the Port Authority took the toll from $8 to $12. Now, if one goes to work every day, crossing that bridge, it’s an $80 a month, roughly, increase in costs, besides the fact that people, when they get there have