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Positions and Views on Other Issues where Information is Available: |
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| Transportation |
Positions and Views |
| Transportation, a General Statement |
Lott: No Response |
| Federal Transportation Funding |
Lott: No Response |
| Highways |
Lott: No single piece of legislation has a greater impact on public safety and on our economy than the highway bill, and the Senate and House now are trying to craft a final measure. I’m a conferee on this bill – charged with resolving the differences between the Senate and House initial versions – and, as the chairman of the Senate’s Surface Transportation Subcommittee, I authored this bill’s safety provisions. It will govern our highways for the next six years, improving our roads and bridges, both of which now suffer 30 percent deficiencies. Better roads will save lives and help create new jobs, and I want this bill to be law before summer ends so that construction can begin on the roads and projects it covers.
With my support, railroads will continue to play a vital role in Mississippi, and that includes our national rail passenger service, Amtrak. Rather than just permanently shutting down America’s rail passenger service, the wise thing to do is to become more innovative. I want to establish bonding authority for Amtrak so that it won’t have to come to Congress every year begging for more money. Amtrak’s current managers are very candid about its shortcomings, and they understand the mistakes that have been made. I’m convinced they can make Amtrak work, through more innovative financing methods, including bonding.
Source: Candidate Website Date: 10/07/2006 |
| Traffic Congestion |
Lott: No Response |
| Telecommuting |
Lott: No Response |
| Highway Safety |
Lott: No Response |
| Drunk Driving |
Lott: No Response |
| Rail |
Lott: Mississippi was one of the first states to pioneer the use of railroads. America’s third railroad was the West Feliciana, planned way back in 1828 and chartered in 1831. With it came the world’s first standard-gauge tracks laid between Woodville and St. Francisville, Louisiana. By the Civil War, Mississippi’s spider-web rail network was so critical that William T. Sherman led 20,000 Union soldiers through central Mississippi just to destroy Mississippi’s rail centers. Even 175 years later, railroads remain part of our landscape, but for how long?
With my support, railroads will continue to play a vital role in Mississippi, and that includes our national rail passenger service, Amtrak. Many question why a Senator from Mississippi is so committed to keeping alive Amtrak – a system more closely associated with big city commuters. Well, it’s not due to my nostalgia for the past, but my concern for our future.
Railroads have survived so long because they are so versatile, and they have enough unexploited potential to last us another 175 years and far beyond. While today’s tracks look no different than they did in 1800s Woodville, the machinery that rolls on them is vastly improved. The Japanese and Europeans in particular have advanced rail passenger service to levels far beyond that of other nations, including ours. Many will say this is because of their compact geography which makes high-speed train usage very feasible, but that’s not the whole story.
Those countries are committed to their railroads because they have to be. Their energy costs are much higher, and the advantages of electric and diesel-electric locomotion for cargo and passenger transport are self-evident. Think about it. Even America’s old standard locomotives use basically the same technology that is touted in today’s "new" gas/electric hybrid cars. With our own nation experiencing ever-increasing energy costs, terrorist threats and congested airports, rail passenger service certainly not onl [Response was truncated to maximum response length of 2000 characters.]
Source: Candidate Website Date: 10/07/2006 |
| Amtrak |
Lott: No Response |
| Air |
Lott: No Response |
| Public Transportation |
Lott: No Response |
| Bikes and Pedestrians |
Lott: No Response |
| Seaports |
Lott: No Response |