Duluth News Tribune: Congressman's view: Transportation secretary’s visit to Duluth was important: Here’s why

We brought Washington to Minnesota again when U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited Duluth on July 21. And wow, was he ever impressed with our people and with what he called our “city with a plan” for creating good jobs by gearing our infrastructure to advance mining, agriculture, forestry and tourism well into the 21st century (“Foxx praises local plans: US transportation secretary visits Duluth, roundtable,” July 22).

“From a transportation standpoint, the most important thing is knowing where your region wants to go, and Duluth gets that,” Secretary Foxx pointed out at a news conference after our meeting with local transportation and business leaders and public officials. “From expanding the Duluth airport and the Port of Duluth to passenger and commercial rail to your roads, bridges, biking and hiking trails and your local transit system, this region has a plan. Our job in Washington is to help advance that plan. And thanks to this visit, I now know much more about how to help Duluth.”

That’s exactly why I invited the secretary to come and visit us. Now, every time another transportation grant request for our area comes across his desk in Washington, Secretary Foxx will remember the close collaboration, careful planning and wise investments he saw in Duluth. That’s also why I leveraged seniority from my previous congressional service to secure a seat on the Transportation Committee and four key subcommittees — Highways and Transit, Aviation, Railroads and Water Resources and the Environment — instead of the customary two.

The personal relationships and knowledge gained from taking the time to participate in two extra subcommittees pays dividends. The Foxx visit is a good example. So is my Duluth Safety Amendment to the Transportation bill that allowed huge logging trucks to use Interstate 35 and avoid downtown. And so are the federal grants we have worked so hard to obtain for Duluth, including $16 million for the new Intermodal Transportation Center, $10 million for the Port Authority’s new intermodal project and $6 million for Duluth’s revolutionary new electric bus transit system.

In the big picture, infrastructure investments are not only about transportation, jobs and business development but also about human development: housing, education, nutrition, services for seniors and military veterans, environmental cleanup and a host of other things that advance the common good.

Minnesota only gets back about 65 cents for every dollar we send to Washington while other states get $4 and $5 and even more. So I’ve made it my mission to help even the score.

According to the Congressional Research Service, our office has already helped bring more than $465 million in federal grants for worthy projects to Minnesota’s 8th District. Most of them — like new sanitary sewer lines to prevent pollution in Lake Mille Lacs and Voyageurs National Park and money to help clean up the St. Louis River — involve infrastructure.

The several million dollars we helped obtain to begin repairing and rebuilding the aging and deteriorating Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is another good example. According to a recent study, 13 percent of America’s GNP moves through the Soo Locks; a large portion of that cargo originates from the Port of Duluth. Moreover,

40 percent of the cargo that originates in the Port of Duluth and passes through the Soo Locks is Range iron ore destined for steel mills and manufacturing facilities across the Great Lakes.The Department of Homeland Security has reported that a catastrophic failure of the Soo Locks would cause a nationwide economic depression and the loss of more than 7 million jobs. I joined other Great Lakes members of Congress in the fight to fix the locks after I saw their importance for myself.

Seeing things with your own eyes makes a difference. And now, just as I have a new appreciation for the Soo Locks, Secretary Foxx has a new appreciation for the city of Duluth and our efforts to build a world-class system of transportation and infrastructure. We’re glad Secretary Foxx could take time out of his busy schedule to visit us, and I’m confident he will be a solid partner for the region as we continue to move forward.