REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE
NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION
National
Press Foundation Surface Transportation
and Sprawl Seminar
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
NOVEMBER 19,
2002
2 PM
Thank you, Mary, for that very warm introduction.
I am delighted to be here to share some thoughts with journalists who
take the time to learn their subjects well.
For over 20 years, the National Press Foundation has been
at the forefront of ensuring that journalists are knowledgeable about the issues
they cover through seminars like this one.
This is extremely important because the American people expect, and
deserve, to be well informed.
For most of my career in Congress, but particularly this
past year as Secretary of Transportation, I have had a lot of experience working
with the press to tell the aviation and transportation security story.
And I’ve had some people helping me.
If you ever need information for a story about DOT or transportation,
you’re in good hands with my main spokesperson, Chet Lunner, and his Deputy,
Lenny Alcivar. Chet, Lenny, please
raise your hands. Our public
affairs staff will work to get you the answers so that you can meet your
deadlines.
I am here to talk to you about my favorite subject:
transportation!
When I was Mayor of San Jose, California, three decades
ago, the tool that made the most difference in my community was transportation.
Nothing else had as great an impact on our economic development, growth
patterns, and quality of life.
A safe and efficient transportation system is essential to
keeping people and goods moving and making cities and communities prosperous.
Some of you younger journalists may not know how many long days and evenings went into the enactment of the predecessor of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), which I co-authored, during my years in the House of Representatives.
ISTEA established important principles for our Nation’s
surface transportation programs, including:
Building partnerships with local and state officials;
strengthening the intermodal connections of the nation’s transportation
system; deploying technologies that make transportation safer or more efficient;
and finally sensitivity to the environmental and other impacts that
transportation has on our quality of life.
I believe that all of these principles still apply today,
and I hope they live on in the successor to the TEA-21.
Our Nation would not be as prosperous and dynamic as it is
without a world-class highway and transportation system.
Transportation leaders and planners nationwide must
continue working together and sharing ideas and insight. Our Nation’s well-being and prosperity are truly at stake.
You are onto an important story here -- a national issue
with local impact, which affects every one of your readers and viewers.
Thank you for taking the time to learn your subject well. I’ll be happy to take some questions.
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