Reps. Huffman, Blumenauer, DeSaulnier to Hold Public Forum on Transportation Infrastructure

April 30, 2015

Washington—Next Wednesday, May 6th, Congressmen Jared Huffman (CA-02), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will hold a public forum on transportation infrastructure. The public forum will be held at Autodesk headquarters in San Rafael and focus on innovation in transportation infrastructure and the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund, which funds transportation projects across the United States.

In 2014, the Highway Trust Fund nearly went insolvent, requiring Congress to pass a short-term fix stabilizing the fund. As of April 30, only 8 legislative days remain before authorization for the Highway Trust Fund expires.

California depends on the Highway Trust Fund for roughly 48.1% of its state transportation budget.  California received $4.04 billion in fiscal year 2009, $3.99 billion in 2010, $3.94 billion in 2011, and $4.13 billion in 2012.  The greater San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan area receives $292,964,961 in annual funding for both highway and transit funding.

Huffman and DeSaulnier are cosponsors of Blumenauer’s UPDATE Act (H.R. 608), which would stabilize the Highway Trust Fund by updating the gas tax. Rep. Huffman is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Rep. DeSaulnier is a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets, and Rep. Blumenauer, a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, is a longtime champion in Congress on transportation funding, including a 10-year stint on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Huffman, Blumenauer and DeSaulnier will be joined by panelists:

  • Caltrans, Bijan Sartipi, Region 4 Director;
  • Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Steve Heminger;
  • Sonoma County Trans Authority, Suzanne Smith;
  • Transportation Authority of Marin, Dianne Steinhauser;
  • SMART, Farhad Mansourian, General Manager;
  • Golden Gate Bridge District, Denis Mulligan, General Manager;
  • Simon Dunne, CEO, Specialized Bikes;
  • Ryan Popple, CEO, Proterra;
  • Rich Quattrini, CEO, Chargepoint;
  • Other transportation leaders.

WHO:            Reps. Jared Huffman, Earl Blumenauer, and Mark DeSaulnier

WHAT:          Public Forum on Transpiration Infrastructure

WHEN:          Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. PT

WHERE:       Autodesk Headquarters, 111 McInnis Parkway, San Rafael

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