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Testimony of Deron Lovaas on Legislative Issues for Transportation Reauthorization
Testimony

Deron Lovaas testified to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Legislative Issues for Transportation Reauthorization that took place on July 21, 2011. In his testimony he recommends a series of steps to rectify current policy, which undermines America's safety, energy and climate security, and economy. These include: Investing wisely in transportation infrastructure by adopting new performance and accountability measures, fixing our failing bridges and roads, reducing our oil dependence, deploying innovative financing tools, improving project delivery, adopting greener freight policy, and reducing polluted stormwater runoff. Read the full testimony for information on specific tools that can help us move forward. Get document in pdf.

The Road to Recovery
Investing in a New Transportation Policy
Fact Sheet

Our outdated national transportation policy poses a triple threat to the nation—to our safety, to our energy and climate security, and to our economy. The current transportation law expired in 2009, and is due for a wholesale rewrite by the President and Congress. Now is the time to create a smarter, safer transportation network for the future, by repairing aging roads, rail lines and bridges, reducing our dependence on oil, and ensuring that our transportation dollars are invested in projects that bring the highest returns. NRDC recommends that Congress and the President work together to create a strong, coherent national transportation policy that will improve mobility, boost the economy, and protect the environment. Get document in pdf.

Testimony of Luke Tonachel on Proposed Rulemaking for Revisions and Additions to Motor Vehicle Fuel Economy Label
Testimony

Testimony of Luke Tonachel in Chicago at a public hearing on the proposed rulemaking for revisions and additions to motor vehicle fuel economy label jointly administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, October 14, 2010. Get document in pdf.

Summary of Energy and Transportation Provisions in the Economic Recovery Bill
Legislative Analysis

The economic recovery bill -- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), H.R. 1 -- makes historic large-scale investments in clean energy resources, which will create jobs, save consumers and businesses money on their energy bills, and help our country begin to make significant reductions in global warming pollution. The bill also includes needed investments in transit and high-speed rail. The clean energy investments in ARRA total about $50 billion, which NRDC estimates will create 1.5 million jobs. In addition, the bill contains $17.7 billion for energy-efficient transportation. Get document in pdf.

Moving Cooler
Securing America's Energy Future
Fact Sheet

America currently uses nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day--enough to fill more than six of the world’s largest supertankers. More than two-thirds of this oil is used to fuel our cars and trucks, which drive enough miles each day to circle the globe more than 331,000 times. Meeting this demand for oil makes America less secure. We rely on imports for more than 60 percent of our overall oil consumption, leaving us dangerously dependent on other nations. Meanwhile, our oil-fueled transportation system accounts for nearly a third of our total global warming pollution. Technology advancements such as hybrid vehicles and better batteries can decrease our oil use and transportation emissions, but groundbreaking new research sponsored by NRDC and leading transportation experts shows that we must deploy additional strategies to overcome this challenge. Get document in pdf.

Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (CLEAN-TEA)
H.R. 1329 can reduce emissions from transportation
Legislative Analysis

The transportation sector is the second-largest and fastest-growing contributor to global warming pollution in the United States, in large part due to steadily rising number of miles that cars and trucks travel each year. Despite some stagnation in the last year because of the economy, driving -- or the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rate -- has grown by three times the rate of population growth over the past 15 years and is expected to grow by 40 percent by 2030, largely because we've designed the vast majority of our communities in ways that give people no other option but to drive everywhere. While there has been a federal focus on increasing fuel economy of vehicles and decreasing carbon content in fuels, these strategies alone will not be enough to slow and reverse overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. The number of miles that vehicles travel is the critical, but often forgotten, "third leg" of the transportation stool. Get document in pdf.

Congressional Testimony of Deron Lovaas, Vehicles Campaign Director: Future Federal Role for Surface Transportation
Testimony

In this testimony, delivered before the Senator Environment and Public Works Committee, Lovaas discusses the role of the federal government in determining transportation policy. With high gas prices at the pump affecting families across the country, he offers an in-depth analysis of policy prescriptions to lessen our addiction to oil, and create a more economically and environmentally sustainable transportation sector.

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