Residential and Commuter Toll Fairness Act of 2010

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3960) to provide authority and sanction for the granting and issuance of programs for residential and commuter toll, user fee and fare discounts by States, municipalities, other localities, as well as all related agencies and departments thereof, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3960.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 3960, the Residential and Commuter Toll Fairness Act of 2010. This bill aims to protect locally provided residential commuter toll and fare discounts throughout the Nation.

Many of us represent people in communities burdened by high tolls and fares. Due to specific isolating geographic factors, like residents on an island or peninsula, as well as the location of tolled roads and bridges, residents in and commuters to certain localities endure a disproportionate toll burden. These people are captive toll payers, toll payers who have little or no choice but to pay much more in tolls than their fellow citizens even within the same region.

In order to address these inequities for captive tollpayers, many States, local governments and local transportation agencies have enacted toll and fare discount programs. My district of Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, suffers from some of the highest toll burdens in the Nation. In fact, per capita, Staten Island is the highest tolled county in the United States, and the cost of these tolls is truly outrageous. Just to put this issue in context for my colleagues, let me give you some examples:

The toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects the Staten Island and Brooklyn sides of my district, now costs $11, and is scheduled to increase to $12 in the next few months. It may be hard for many Americans to believe, but discussions are already underway to further increase the toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to $13 in the coming years--$13 just to cross a bridge in order to visit a relative, to go to school, to go to work or just to get off the island. It is not much better on all the other bridges surrounding Staten Island. The Bayonne, the Goethals Bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing--all to New Jersey--each cost $8. Staten Islanders are truly captive tollpayers. No matter which way they travel, they have no choice but to pay these tolls if they want to get back on the island.

To help alleviate the situation, the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which are the transportation agencies that run these bridges, have instituted a series of residential discount programs for Staten Islanders which reduce the amount that islanders pay for these bridges, sometimes reducing the cost by almost 50 percent. Many of these discounts have been in place for a decade or more; but even with these discounts, Staten Islanders pay almost $500 million in tolls every year, making it more than 7 percent of all tolls paid nationwide even though Staten Island represents less than .16 percent, or 1/600th, of the U.S. population. These statistics take into account the tolls paid with the residential discount programs in effect. Just imagine how much worse the situation would be without these residential discount programs.

But my district is not unique. Many other States and localities grant similar residential discounts to captive tollpayers on roads across the country, including the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels in Boston, the Marine Parkway and Cross Bay Vets Parkway in Rockaway, Queens, New York, the Tappan Zee Bridge in the Hudson Valley of New York, the New York Thruway, the Delaware Bay Bridge, the Rhode Island Turnpike, and the Newport Pell Bridge in Rhode Island, just to name a few.

In the last few years, many of these discount programs have come under attack in the courts. Last October, in a case entitled Selevan vs. New York

Thruway Authority, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that toll discounts for residents of towns bordering the New York State Thruway may be unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in Selevan claimed, among other things, that these residential toll discount programs may be a dormant commerce clause violation, but the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed their case. The Second Circuit's decision remanded and reinstated the action, which will now move forward in the district court.

H.R. 3960 provides express congressional authorization for these discounts, and it makes clear that residential toll and fare discounts are constitutional, fair, and necessary to help alleviate the heavy toll burdens paid by so many captive tollpayers across the Nation. This is a national issue, affecting every person in communities burdened by high tolls and fares, many of whom would otherwise be unable to travel without these critical discounts. Let me be clear about a few things:

First, the bill does not in any way limit the existing ability of States, local governments or local transportation agencies to provide discounts to captive tollpayers or to other tollpayers, nor does this bill provide any additional Federal authority over State or local decision-making. In fact, the bill actually safeguards current State and local power.

All this bill actually does is provide an extra layer of protection against court challenges for those States, local governments and local transportation agencies that choose to offer discounts to captive tollpayers, like the people I represent, who suffer disproportionate toll burdens. Since article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress ``the power to regulate commerce among the several States,'' H.R. 3960 provides an express congressional statement under that provision, supporting the current ability of States, local governments and local transportation agencies to issue discounts to captive tollpayers.

However, toll discounts or government actions designed to give preferential treatment to residents of their States at the expense of other States or of the national economy will receive no benefits from this bill, and they will likely be struck down by the courts as violating the commerce clause. Therefore, I urge all of my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

I thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairman DeFazio and their terrific staffs for working with me to revise this bill to be sure we protect captive tollpayers and for helping to bring this bill to the floor today. I also thank my legislative director, Jeff Siegel, a Staten Islander who grew up paying these unfair tolls and who knows quite well the inequity that exists.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3960, as amended, the ``Residential and Commuter Toll Fairness Act of 2010''.

The bill, introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon), clarifies the existing authority of, and as necessary provides express authorization for, public authorities to offer discounts in transportation tolls to residents of communities faced with limited transportation access and heavy toll burdens.

I have long been concerned about the high cost that highway or bridge tolls may impose on those who lack transportation alternatives. H.R. 3960 helps to respond to these concerns.

A number of communities across the nation have limited transportation access because the communities are located on islands, peninsulas, or other geographically-constrained areas. Furthermore, residents of, and commuters into, some of these localities face bridge tolls every time they enter or depart their communities.

Due to geography and the presence of tolls, residents and commuters in these communities often pay far more for transportation access than residents and commuters in other areas. Such increased transportation costs can impose a significant and unfair burden on these ``captive toll payers.''

To address this inequality, and to reduce the undue financial hardship on these individuals, a number of localities have implemented programs that offer residentially-based toll discounts. The Federal Highway Administration recognizes the authority of States and localities to operate these toll discount programs.

H.R. 3960 does not mandate the use of residentially-based toll discount programs. It simply makes clear that Federal law allows public authorities to offer these programs to captive toll payers.

In short, this bill reinforces the right of communities to reduce the extreme toll burdens borne by captive toll payers, and it does so without infringing on any State or local laws or existing programs.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3960.

Mr. LoBiondo. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York did an excellent job of explaining how important this legislation is. It is a commonsense approach to solving a problem, and I support the bill.