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Full Steam Ahead for Rail: Why Rail Is More Relevant Than Ever for Economic and Environmental Progress

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Full Steam Ahead for Rail: Why Rail Is More Relevant Than Ever for Economic and Environmental Progress FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR RAIL: WHY RAIL IS MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER FOR ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS (117–6) REMOTE HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON RAILROADS, PIPELINES, AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 10, 2021 Printed for the use of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ( Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-transportation?path=/ browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/transportation U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 44–661 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021 VerDate Aug 31 2005 12:57 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 P:\HEARINGS\117\RR\3-10-2~1\TRANSC~1\44661.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon, Chair ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, SAM GRAVES, Missouri District of Columbia DON YOUNG, Alaska EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas ERIC A. ‘‘RICK’’ CRAWFORD, Arkansas RICK LARSEN, Washington BOB GIBBS, Ohio GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida STEVE COHEN, Tennessee THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania JOHN GARAMENDI, California RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia JOHN KATKO, New York ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana BRIAN BABIN, Texas DINA TITUS, Nevada GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina JARED HUFFMAN, California MIKE BOST, Illinois JULIA BROWNLEY, California RANDY K. WEBER, SR., Texas FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida DOUG LAMALFA, California DONALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California BRIAN J. MAST, Florida MARK DESAULNIER, California MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California JENNIFFER GONZA´ LEZ-COLO´ N, ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland Puerto Rico TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey TROY BALDERSON, Ohio GREG STANTON, Arizona PETE STAUBER, Minnesota COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas, Vice Chair DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota JESU´ S G. ‘‘CHUY’’ GARCI´A, Illinois JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey ANTONIO DELGADO, New York MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire TROY E. NEHLS, Texas CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania NANCY MACE, South Carolina SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, Massachusetts BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida KAIALI‘I KAHELE, Hawaii MICHELLE STEEL, California MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington NIKEMA WILLIAMS, Georgia MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois VACANCY (ii) VerDate Aug 31 2005 12:57 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5905 Sfmt 5905 P:\HEARINGS\117\RR\3-10-2~1\TRANSC~1\44661.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER SUBCOMMITTEE ON RAILROADS, PIPELINES, AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS DONALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey, Chair TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey ERIC A. ‘‘RICK’’ CRAWFORD, Arkansas SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois STEVE COHEN, Tennessee MIKE BOST, Illinois ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey RANDY K. WEBER, SR., Texas ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana DOUG LAMALFA, California FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas JESU´ S G. ‘‘CHUY’’ GARCI´A, Illinois BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington TROY BALDERSON, Ohio GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California PETE STAUBER, Minnesota HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee DINA TITUS, Nevada DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota JARED HUFFMAN, California TROY E. NEHLS, Texas STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts MICHELLE STEEL, California JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, Massachusetts SAM GRAVES, Missouri (Ex Officio) VACANCY PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon (Ex Officio) (iii) VerDate Aug 31 2005 12:57 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5905 Sfmt 5905 P:\HEARINGS\117\RR\3-10-2~1\TRANSC~1\44661.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER VerDate Aug 31 2005 12:57 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5905 Sfmt 5905 P:\HEARINGS\117\RR\3-10-2~1\TRANSC~1\44661.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER CONTENTS Page Summary of Subject Matter .................................................................................... vii STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey, and Chair, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Haz- ardous Materials: Opening statement ........................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 3 Hon. Eric A. ‘‘Rick’’ Crawford, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arkansas, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials: Opening statement ........................................................................................... 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in Congress from the State of Or- egon, and Chair, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Opening statement ........................................................................................... 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, prepared statement .............................................................................................. 73 WITNESSES Shannon Valentine, Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth of Virginia: Oral statement .................................................................................................. 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 Caren Kraska, President and Chairman, Arkansas and Missouri Railroad, on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association: Oral statement .................................................................................................. 15 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL–CIO: Oral statement .................................................................................................. 25 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26 Tom G. Williams, Group Vice President, Consumer Products, BNSF Railway Company: Oral statement .................................................................................................. 30 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Submissions for the Record by Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr.: Statement of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials .............. 73 Statement of John C. Hellmann, Chief Executive Officer, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. ................................................................................................. 75 Submissions for the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio: Statement of William J. Flynn, Chief Executive Officer, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) ................................................................. 76 Report entitled ‘‘Freight Railroads and Climate Change,’’ by the Associa- tion of American Railroads, March 2021 .................................................... 82 Statement of Nicole Brewin, Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, Railway Supply Institute .................................................... 89 Statement of Arun Rao, Chair, States for Passenger Rail Coalition, Inc. and Passenger Rail Manager, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Railroads and Harbors Section .................................................................... 92 (v) VerDate Aug 31 2005 12:57 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5905 Sfmt 5905 P:\HEARINGS\117\RR\3-10-2~1\TRANSC~1\44661.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER vi Page Submissions for the Record by Hon. Seth Moulton: White paper entitled, ‘‘American High-Speed Rail and Rebuilding the U.S. Economy,’’ by the Office of Hon. Seth Moulton .................................. 94 Article entitled, ‘‘Nine key takeaways from the Globe’s ‘Blind Spot’ inves- tigation,’’ by Matt Rocheleau, Vernal Coleman, Evan Allen, Laura Crimaldi, and Brendan McCarthy, Boston Globe, updated August 25, 2020 ................................................................................................................ 112 Requests for Information During Hearing, and Responses from Caren Kraska, President and Chairman, Arkansas and Missouri Railroad, on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association .......................... 114 APPENDIX Questions to Shannon Valentine, Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth of Virginia, from: Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr. .............................................................................. 117 Hon. Seth Moulton ........................................................................................... 117 Hon. Scott Perry ............................................................................................... 119 Questions to Greg Regan, President, Transportation
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