Washington, D.C.– Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Mark Begich (D-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and
Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA 2nd), to introduce a bi-partisan
bill in both houses of Congress that would improve and expand federal
investment in ferries, a vital part of America’s transportation system. More
than 100 million passengers take ferries every year in at least 38 states,
often between work and home. The transportation services offered by ferries are
critical to communities across the country, and their regional economies.
However, according to the Department of Transportation, one fourth of ferry
systems are 40 years or older and five percent are 60 years or older. The U.S.
Ferry Systems Investment Act works to improve this aging fleet, and the ferry
infrastructure as a whole.
“In Alaska, our ferry system is not an alternative route
– it’s a primary method of transportation,” said Murkowski. “The Alaska Marine
Highway system totals more miles than the distance from Seattle to Miami. This
bill is an economic engine and improves our way of life, from Dutch Harbor to
Metlakatla.”
The
Act would invest $200 million a year in funding for ferry systems across the
country starting in Fiscal Year 2012, and running through Fiscal Year 2018. The
funding would be divided into two parts. Half of the money ($100 million a
year) would be distributed according to a formula that takes into account
straightforward factors such as how many passengers use the ferry system each
year, how many vehicles are carried, and how many total miles the routes
contain. The other half ($100 million a year) would be distributed at the
discretion of the Secretary of Transportation using a competitive process.
The
bill also includes the following additional ways to strengthen ferry systems
across the country:
- Makes
ferry systems eligible to compete for funding under the Clean Fuels Grant
Program. - Establishes
a Ferry Joint Program Office within U.S. DOT to coordinate federal programs
(DHS, etc.) affecting ferry and ferry facility construction, maintenance,
operations and security, and to promote ferry transportation as a component of
the U.S. transportation system. - Requires
U.S. DOT to ensure the National Ferry Database is consistent with the database
maintained by the Federal Transit Administration. - Authorizes
funding to establish a National Ferry Transportation Institute at a college or
university. The institute is directed to conduct research, training, and
develop models and recommendations to improve the operation and safety of ferry
systems in the U.S.
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