Transportation

As the only member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from Massachusetts, Mike was instrumental in securing $3.658 billion in funding over 6 years for Massachusetts’s highways and bridges, and $1.576 billion over the same time period for transit projects. This investment in our critical infrastructure needs totaled $5.23 billion, and was a 25 percent increase over the previous multi-year transportation bill.

As part of the recently passed American Clean Energy and Security Act, Mike was a leader in the House pushing to address the serious issue of transportation-related emissions. This accounts for nearly 30% of our country’s emissions, but had not been receiving adequate attention. The bill that passed in the House gave states the flexibility to use up to 1% of funds raised by the energy bill for transit projects. This is a small step toward pushing leaders to recognize that transportation must be part of the climate change solution.

When the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) was threatening the creation of a planned Assembly Square T stop by measuring it against standards that just did not make sense for an infill station on existing track, Mike fought for a common sense exemption for the project. The Assembly Square project, which is vital for economic development and job creation in the area, will proceed when it’s ready under a special exempt category granted by FTA for projects spending less than $25M in federal funds.

When the 1-90 Tunnel collapsed, tragically killing a woman, Mike called in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate. Their involvement helped cut through red tape and brought all the parties to the table. Mike continued to push for answers, and discovered that other tunnels were not subject to any national inspection standards. As a result, Mike introduced legislation to create an inspection and inventory requirement modeled after the existing National Bridge Inspection Standards. His legislation has passed the House twice but has not yet become law. This year Mike fought for the legislation to be included in the upcoming Surface Transportation Bill. His efforts resulted in the inclusion of the inspection program in a bill recently passed out of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. The Tunnel Inspection Program’s inclusion at such an early stage in the bill that sets our transportation policies for the next 6 years is an excellent signal that Congress recognizes the importance of this issue and that we will see National Tunnel Inspection Standards in the very near future.

To learn more about where Mike stands, we encourage you to attend an event, listen to one of Mike's podcasts, or watch one of Mike's videos.