Senate EPW Committee Concludes Hearings, Ready to Draft Reauthorization Legislation

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week held a hearing to address opportunities to improve safety in transportation as part of a series of hearings related to the reauthorization of SAFTEA-LU. At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that this was the final hearing and the next time the committee meets it will be to mark up a transportation authorization bill. Sen. Boxer said the committee staff will meet over the next several weeks to finish drafting the bill. AGC submitted testimony that called for inclusion of enhanced work zone safety measures, increased investment to address infrastructure safety issues and opposition to requirements for states to consider Owner Controlled Insurance Programs on large highway projects. Among the witnesses was Ted R. Miller, Ph.D., who reported that more than half of the 43,000 annual U.S. highway fatalities are related to poor roadway conditions at an annual cost of $217 billion. Miller, an internationally-recognized safety economist at the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), is the primary author of a July 2009 study, "On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways" for the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC).