TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June 2003

Rep. Jim Oberstar

Rep. Tom Petri

Rep. Ellen Tauscher

Rep. Mike Honda

Rep. Barbara Lee
(photos by Bill Hall / Caltrans)

Power Players
Visit Bay Area
The move to write a new federal transportation bill is picking up steam, with MTC playing host to a delegation from Congress in late May. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), the senior-most Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, and Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), chair of the House Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee, traveled to the Bay Area at the request of Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Walnut Creek). Also on hand were two other local members of Congress, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). After getting a first-hand look at the region’s traffic problems, the delegation paused for a press conference to drum up support for a new bill authorizing increased federal transportation investments over the next six years. The bill is the successor to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA 21, which is set to expire this fall and which is notable for its emphasis on flexible federal funding that can be channeled by regional entities like MTC to worthy local projects. The event was staged at the Oakland International Gateway project, an intermodal freight hub at the Port of Oakland that exemplifies the benefits of flexible federal funding.
— Brenda Kahn

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