Subcommittee Discusses Transportation R&D
(Washington, DC) – Today the Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing to review surface transportation research, development, and technology programs within the Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the relationship between the Department and non-federal entities that also conduct transportation research.
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology shares jurisdiction over transportation R&D with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Committees typically work together to ensure R&D priorities are set in the Research Title which then gets incorporated into the comprehensive surface transportation bill. The most recent comprehensive transportation reauthorization expired on September 30, 2014. Since then, the programs have been funded through short-term extensions.
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee Dan Lipinski (D-IL) said in his opening statement, “With the U.S. population predicted to increase by nearly 30 percent by 2050, we have to find ways to move people and freight more efficiently and more safely. Our current system of roads, bridges, railroads, and transit lines will not be sufficient to support the additional influx of people. Moreover, it is not clear that we will have the funding, the popular support, or the land to just build more. Instead, we must make our infrastructure work smarter. I recently convened a roundtable in Silicon Valley to better understand how technology is going to play a major role in revolutionizing transportation, and I believe that long-term investments in transportation R&D will be critical to leveraging innovation to meeting future demand.”
The research title of the upcoming surface transportation bill provides an important opportunity for this Committee to provide more guidance to the Department of Transportation on national transportation R&D priorities for highways, public transportation, rail, and freight. As I discussed in my recent Op-Ed in The Hill, we have to make federal investments in research that will provide a safer transportation environment for future generations.”
Witnesses and Democratic Members discussed a number of issues including how DOT coordinates with other agencies, connected vehicle technologies, and the importance of state and local research programs.
Dr. Michael Meyer, Chair, Research and Technology Coordinating Committee at the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board (TRB) testified on two of the most recent TRB reports. He said, “These two reports speak toward the need for federal leadership in promoting, fostering, leading, and in some cases, managing research programs that lay the groundwork for technology applications that could fundamentally change the way we use transportation in the future.”
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said, “From highways, to public transportation, to railroads, research and development of innovative technologies and policies can improve the safe and efficient movement of people and freight. It is equally important to implement policies that support long-term, advanced research that will lead to revolutionary improvements to our transportation systems. To ensure a tech savvy transportation workforce, it is also important that we implement policies to incorporate transportation applications in the teaching of STEM fields. My colleagues and I must come together to support a multi-year, bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes strong R&D provisions with adequate funding levels. I only hope that the Science, Space, and Technology Committee will take the steps necessary to ensure that we have a strong voice in what that bill looks like.”
Related Content
Next Article Previous Article