releases: http://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-one-of-four-leaders-for-bipartisan-surface-transportation-bill
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-one-of-four-leaders-for-bipartisan-surface-transportation-bill | Norton, One of Four Leaders for Bipartisan Surface Transportation Bill, Speaks on House Floor on Its Merits and Shortcomings | 2015-11-04 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | DC | Eleanor Norton | N000147 | norton.house.gov | legacy | Racial Profiling, DBE, Workforce Development, and Enhanced Bus Safety for Drivers and Riders among Norton Priorities in Bill WASHINGTON, D.C.Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees subcommittee on Highways and Transit, helped open debate yesterday on the House floor on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRR). Norton is one of the bipartisan Big Four committee leaders that introduced the six-year surface transportation bill, which will also be debated on the floor today and tomorrow. Norton was candid about the bills shortcomings, particularly its funding level, which is the same, adjusted for inflation, as the previous surface transportation reauthorization, MAP-21, which was passed three years ago. She said that the bill is barely funded for two and a half years and is a six-year bill in name only. At the same time, she said that states and the District of Columbia planning large projects will be grateful for the certainty in the immediate future provided by a six-year bill. STRR is the first long-term surface transportation bill in 10 years. Norton said, however, that the shortcomings of this bill should not obscure what makes this bill unique. It is genuinely bipartisan. It was approved unanimously in committeeDemocrats and Republicans put aside their many differences, giving up much of what they believed they need. I hope this bill will be a model for how to proceed in the future. Norton said she was particularly pleased that the bill includes her language to provide $45 million in federal highway grant funding to encourage state-based efforts to collect racial profiling data on traffic stops and develop strategies to combat profiling. Norton also highlighted a number of other important priorities that she got in the bill, including: direct federal safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority Metrorail system; new 21st century pilot funding to replace the now antiquated Highway Trust Fund, which has been made obsolete by energy-efficient vehicles; reauthorization of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which provides contract opportunities for businesses owned by minorities, women, and service-disabled veterans; funding for workforce development; and enhanced safety for bus riders and drivers. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |