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Nationwide Listening Tour: Town Hall Discussion on U.S. Transportation Policy
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar
Monday, January 25
Cowles Auditorium
Humphrey Center
University of Minnesota
About the Event
Congressman Oberstar
Secretary LaHood
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in Minneapolis on January 25 for the second stop of a nationwide listening tour on transportation policy. Secretary LaHood and Congressman Oberstar solicited feedback from local transportation stakeholders on the next big surface transportation bill.
Secretary LaHood and Congressman Oberstar, along with several USDOT administrators, led a town hall-style meeting to solicit the views of key stakeholders on ways to improve the delivery of surface transportation programs. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum also participated.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is particularly interested in ideas that will improve the effectiveness of transportation programs with respect to safety, livability, economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability and the state of good repair of transportation infrastructure. Panel discussions following the town hall meeting explored several of these key issues in greater detail.
Event Slideshow
Agenda
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Town Hall Discussion: Challenges and Opportunities in Transportation
- Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar
Plenary Session: Issues for Reauthorization
Lunch with the USDOT Leadership: A Discussion of Vision, Priorities, and Challenges
Breakout Panels and Discussions
- Safety, Livability, and Sustainability
- Economic Development and State of Good Repair
- Rural and Tribal Transportation Issues
About the Nationwide Listening Tour
Congress is working on a six-year successor to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which has been temporarily extended since it expired September 30. This was the second in a series of listening sessions Secretary LaHood and the USDOT are hosting across the country to bring together federal and local officials, transportation providers, and users to discuss the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.
Sponsors
The Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota are hosting this event in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation.