FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWARK – U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), Chairman of the House Transportation
& Infrastructure Committee, which oversees transportation policy and funding
for the nation, spoke at a meeting of the North Jersey Transportation Planning
Authority (NJTPA) on April 22nd. Monmouth County Freeholder Theodore J. Narozanick,
Chairman of the NJTPA Board of Trustees, and other local elected officials representing
northern New Jersey citizens on the board were briefed by the Congressman on
the importance of the renewal of the nation's principal transportation law next
year.
"I was pleased to see one of the most powerful leaders in the House of
Representatives at the NJTPA Board meeting," Narozanick said. "He
is one of the guiding hands for our nation's transportation laws and a key link
to federal transportation funding. He was open and receptive to the transportation
funding needs and concerns of our state and region."
Narozanick and other members of the NJTPA Board will be providing input to the
New Jersey Congressional Delegation over the coming year on issues that must
be addressed in the renewal of national transportation legislation, as well
as identifying priority projects that can be included in the legislation for
earmarked funding.
This legislation, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21),
sets funding levels for highway, bridge and mass transit investment throughout
the nation. The Committee chaired by Congressman Young will be responsible for
drafting the revised legislation.
Congressman Young, in his remarks to the NJTPA Board, stressed that addressing
transportation issues must be one of the nation's top priorities. "This
nation is great because we've been an industrial nation, a consumer nation,
an export nation, and a manufacturing nation," he said. "And if you
don't have transportation you lose all of these."
Prior to the NJTPA meeting, Congressman Young spoke at a luncheon organized
by the New Jersey Alliance for Action that included top state officials and
business and labor leaders. Governor Jim McGreevey also spoke at the luncheon.
The NJTPA is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for 13 northern New
Jersey counties. Under federal legislation, MPOs provide a forum where local
officials, public transportation providers and state agency representatives
can come together and cooperatively plan to meet the region’s current and
future transportation needs. It establishes the region’s eligibility to
receive federal tax dollars for transportation projects.
The NJTPA Board consists of one local elected official from each of the 13 counties
in the region (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris,
Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren), and the cities of Newark
and Jersey City. The Board also includes a Governor’s Representative, the
Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Executive Directors
of NJ Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a Citizen’s
Representative appointed by the Governor.
Contact:
David Behrend, Public Affairs Manager
(973) 639-8423