Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert and the Bipartisan Policy Center to Call for Transportation Policy Reform at New York City Forum

Discussion to Showcase Regional Transportation Perspectives

Updated Agenda Below

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and former New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert will convene a forum to discuss federal transportation policy reform and its effect on New York City and the surrounding region.  The event will be held on Monday, January 25, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center at New York University (NYU).  

The event, co-hosted by NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, will highlight the BPC's National Transportation Policy Project's (NTPP) recently released report, "Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy," and will feature leading local, regional, and state transportation policymakers, top academics and other key transportation stakeholders.  Keynote speakers and panelists will discuss the local, regional and national impacts of the next transportation authorization bill, analyze the effects NTPP's recommendations would have on New York City and the surrounding area, and highlight the findings of a research paper to be released at this event on "Lessons Learned for Discretionary Federal Transportation Funding Programs" looking specifically at the New Starts program administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).  The event is hosted in partnership with the Regional Plan Association, with sponsorship provided by the AFL-CIO, AECOM and PB Consult.

"Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy" is a blueprint for creating a national transportation system that is efficient, effective, and accountable.  The report presents a vision for future federal transportation policy that distributes funds in a way that rewards performance, innovation, and competition.  NTPP is led by its co-chairs: former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, former Senator Slade Gorton; former Congressman Martin Sabo; and former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer, and is composed of a broad, bipartisan coalition of transportation experts and business and civic leaders.

Forum Speakers and Panelists to Include:

Welcome and Perspectives on Federal Transportation Policy Reform

Former U.S. Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, NTPP Co-Chair and Of Counsel, The Accord Group

U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

National Transportation Policy Project Report Recommendations  

Joshua Schank, Ph.D., Director of Transportation Research, Bipartisan Policy Center

Government Response Panel: Opportunities and Challenges Implementing NTPP's Recommendations for Reform

Christopher Boylan, Deputy Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Timothy Gilchrist, Senior Advisor for Infrastructure and Transportation, New York State

Commissioner Joseph Marie, Connecticut Department of Transportation

Mary K. Murphy, Executive Director, North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority

Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City Department of Transportation

Moderated by Anthony Shorris, Director, New York University Wagner Rudin Center

Policy Response Panel: Opportunities and Challenges Implementing NTPP's Recommendations for Reform

Bob Pleasure, Special Assistant to the President, Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Kate Slevin, Executive Director, Tri-State Transportation Campaign

Robert Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association

Moderated by Elliot Sander, Chief Executive, Global Transportation, AECOM

"New Starts: Lessons Learned for Discretionary Federal Transportation Funding Programs"

Donald J. Emerson, Principle Consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff, PB Strategic Consulting

Jeffrey D. Ensor, Consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff, PB Strategic Consulting

Keynote Remarks

Gregory G. Nadeau, Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Introduction and Response by Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center and former Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation

Members of the press wishing to attend, please RSVP to press@bipartisanpolicy.org.  Press set-up begins at 8:00 a.m.  If you are interested in scheduling interviews with any of the participants, please contact Ashley Clark at (202) 637-1456 or [email protected].

NTPP was launched with the goal of bringing fresh approaches to transportation policy.  Its proposals for transportation reform aim to be bold and pragmatic, while remaining effective and relevant.  More information about NTPP and its project members is available here: www.bipartisanpolicy.org.

About the Bipartisan Policy Center:

In 2007, former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to develop and promote solutions that can attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an incubator for policy efforts that engage top political figures, advocates, academics, and business leaders in the art of principled compromise. For more information please visit our website: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/.

SOURCE Bipartisan Policy Center