Senator

Jim Keane

Montana

Representative

Janice Arnold-Jones

New Mexico

This committee focuses on the issues related to the movement of people and goods throughout the West and through the airports or seaports of the region that integrate to the global supply chain. The committee investigates the critical transportation issues facing the West, particularly the impacts of exploding population growth combined with aging transportation infrastructure. The committee takes the lead for western legislators in working with the Western Governors’ Association and the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Official in support of the SAFETEA-LU and its reauthorization, the Essential Air Service Act (EAS), and the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 funding for western infrastructure projects. As the only region that borders both Canada and Mexico, the committee works with these organizations in support of trade corridor and economic competitive strategies to improve commerce and trade between the NAFTA countries.

For more information on the TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, please contact CSG-WEST staff:

Rich Lindsey, phone (307) 742-2543, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

2009 Highlights: The Trade and Transportation Committee looked at issues encompassing this year’s federal reauthorization of the highway bill from both national and western perspectives. Members also received an in-depth report on the future of highway funding from a representative of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission.

2008 Highlights: Transportation and Trade Committee members explored challenges and solutions to the transportation needs of both the western region and the nation. The committee looked at the findings of the Transportation for Tomorrow: Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission and the status of trucking in the West.

2007 Highlights: This forum considered innovative ways to relieve highway congestion, the status of western ports and how they impact western trade, and how one state, Oregon, has implemented a model program to raise highway revenues.

2006 Highlights: Committee members discussed the role of light rail as well as innovations in transportation planning 50 years after the birth of the interstate highway system. In addition, lawmakers looked at the impacts on immigration from the North America Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

2005 Highlights: Legislators considered the impacts of the Central American Free Trade Agreement on western agriculture, the future of the airline industry in the West, and how the new Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) legislation meets the region's rapidly growing population and traffic demands.