The following article is from the February 2007 issue of

First-term U.S. Representative John Hall (D-19^th District) was appointed to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee has jurisdiction over highways, turnpikes, rail systems, and other related systems. Rep. Hall's new assignment could bode well for Hudson Valley residents, as the area's recent population growth and economic boon have posed challenges for managing traffic, easing the surge in energy prices, and controlling flood damage.

According to a statement by Hall, the committee is expected to play a major role in the upcoming debate on energy independence. The chairman of the committee, Jim Oberstar (D-Minnesota), has said that he will push to expand public transportation as part of a long-term effort to cut down on gas consumption. "If we made a 10 percent mode shift in surface transportation to transit, we would save the equivalent of all the oil we import from Saudi Arabia in a year. That's 550 million barrels of oil," Oberstar was quoted as saying in the Minnesota Star Tribune.

On the legislative front, Hall has co-sponsored the "Get Real Incentives to Drive Plug-in Act," which would establish a pilot project to determine how best to integrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the electric power grid and into the overall transportation infrastructure. He is also co-sponsoring H.R. 670 (introduced by New York's Eliot Engel) to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil through the use of alternative fuels and new vehicle technologies.

Newsletter Issue

• Ecopolitics Monthly --- February 2007