S U R F A C E T R A N S P O R T A T I O N
P O L I C Y P R O J E C T
1100 Seventeenth Street, N.W. 10th floor,
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: 202.466.2636; Fax: 202.466.2247;
E-Mail: stpp@transact.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, contact:
Barbara McCann, STPP
(202) 466-2636
Roy Kienitz, Executive Director of the Surface Transportation Policy Project made the following statement on the selection of Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation Designate for the incoming Bush administration:
"In Congress, Mineta helped restructure transportation funding to give states and localities more choices in spending federal money. Now this is bearing fruit, with major upsurges in transit ridership and demand for everything from new rail systems to more walkable communities. Mineta is well-placed to help the Bush team respond to Americans' increasing desire for transportation choice.
"Mineta is from Silicon Valley where the new economy is being created. To support it, state and local transportation agencies are spending billions of dollars to build new transit lines, an effort that Mineta has supported. California has figured out that more roads wouldn't solve their transportation problems. Mineta can help the people in the rest of the country who are coming to the same conclusions solve their transportation problems."
Mr. Kienitz is prepared to provide further perspective on Mineta's nomination; please call (202) 466-2636.
The Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) is the premier national non-profit group working on transportation reform issues. STPP was the architect of the restructuring of federal transportation funding in 1991's Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), which allowed money formerly restricted to highway use to be spent on a variety of transportation projects according to local needs. This popular legislation was reauthorized as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998. TEA-21 will face reauthorization again in 2003. STPP has also led public-interest research connecting transportation to quality of life concerns, with reports on traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, road construction, highway maintenance, and other concerns.
