Senator Warner said this morning that it makes no sense that in 2009, America does not have a "national, clearly articulated plan to get in -- and win -- the global competitiveness race during a time of transformative change."

He spoke at a seminar hosted by the Council on Competitiveness, which focused on ways to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. supply chain infrastructure, particularly in transportation.  Other speakers included Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. 

Senator Warner noted that any competitive plan must tackle issues such as health care, trade, worker training and R&D, but infrastructure issues present unique challenges:

“We need to look at a fundamental reorganization of how we address transportation issues. It’s essential from a policy perspective, because we cannot simply continue forward under the current system of ‘stovepipes’ where more than 100 distinct federal transportation programs is governed by different congressional oversight and a mix of funding sources.

Program consolidation and restructuring is an essential element of transitioning to a performance-based transportation policy. Reorganization is also necessary from a funding perspective.  Money should be allocated so that there is coordination between different modes of transport, and in a way that delivers maximum benefits.”

The stimulus package adopted by Congress earlier this year invests heavily in infrastructure projects across the board – from highways and roads to transit to ports.

In addition, the Senate budget blueprint includes Senator Warner’s amendment setting aside future federal dollars for multimodal transportation projects. It provides a set of performance measures to increase economic growth, efficiency and public safety, and requires a cost-benefit analysis to ensure accountability.

“I cannot stress enough the need to focus on multimodal opportunities, as these will help us with both passenger transport and keep us competitive in global commerce,” Senator Warner said.

He spoke afterwards to an event organizer about the "next steps" toward creating a national competitiveness plan: