Transportation & Infrastructure

Summary:

The Biden administration has already declared war on Ohio’s oil and gas sector, and now they want to make it impossible for middle-class Americans to own a gas-powered vehicle. Their obsession with forcing everyone into electric vehicles will make transportation more expensive. And it gets worse…

With arbitrary mandates causing more EVs to crowd into the market, the cost will go up even more sharply as the critical minerals for battery production get snapped up and China goes on to dominate EV battery supply chains. And plugging more EVs into the power grid will lead to blackouts, turning Ohio into California. Home energy bills will skyrocket. Biden and Brown are selling out America’s security and future by forcing Americans to buy their energy from hostile foreign nations and major components of their cars from China, instead of empowering American energy and ingenuity.

There’s nothing wrong with choosing to own an EV. But taking the choice away from consumers will make driving far too expensive for average hardworking Americans. This will result in fewer Americans owning cars and enjoying the freedom that automobile ownership has always represented. Perhaps this is their sinister objective.

On highways

On highways, the Biden administration has declared that highways are racist and will destroy the planet. Saying that a mom driving to the grocery store to feed her kids is racist, or that a family driving to visit the grandparents is destroying the planet, is simply wrong and demonstrates how unserious this administration really is. Roads allow families access to schools, hospitals, and grocery stores, and Frank will work to eviscerate Biden’s economy-wrecking ban on internal combustion engines that undermines how federal highways are maintained.

Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill was supposed to be an investment in transportation. In reality, it was full of liberal social agenda items with little connection to true infrastructure. In addition to the problems created when this administration wasted precious infrastructure dollars on the wrong things, we can’t get road projects built without fixing the permitting process, and the Biden administration is blocking reform.

Rural roads need attention

Rural roads need attention. Unless you grow it in your backyard, everything you eat and the products you use every day invariably arrive by truck. But vast sections of our road system are in disrepair. The billions Congress has set aside to repair them are being routed to wasteful liberal vanity projects. We need leaders in Congress who will fight to make sure highway funds are used as intended, not wasting money on social projects and Green New Deal programs.

On infrastructure

On infrastructure, the lack of rural broadband was put on full display during the pandemic when teachers unions shut down schools and told kids to go learn from home. Some children were forced to sit outside their local McDonalds to get a Wi-Fi signal strong enough to attend class or do homework. Rural Ohio has been neglected, and Sherrod Brown has done nothing to help improve the lives of these Ohioans. We need to invest in critical broadband infrastructure to ensure all Ohioans can access services like telehealth.

In many areas of Ohio, it’s almost impossible to get a good cell signal. Dependable internet access is critical for economic growth and public safety. But we can’t make this happen with the current federal permitting system for infrastructure development. It shouldn’t take five or more years to get basic environmental permits. Frank will apply lessons learned in the Ohio Senate to help speed up the federal permitting reforms needed to get road and infrastructure projects from investment to development to completion as quickly as possible.

Biden and Brown’s 2021 infrastructure bill

Biden and Brown’s 2021 infrastructure bill was supposed to be an investment in transportation, but Ohioans can’t get road projects built without fixing the permitting process the White House is blocking. And Biden’s open declaration of war on the oil and gas sector will soon make it impossible for the working class to own gas-powered vehicles, and will make it prohibitively expensive for Ohio businesses to transport their products. Families need better roads, but the billions Congress has set aside to repair them are being directed to wasteful liberal vanity projects. We need leaders in Congress who will fight to make sure highway funds are used as intended, and will work to improve broadband and cell service in rural Ohio.

In the General Assembly, Frank was a strong supporter of investing in rural broadband and better Ohio roads. In Washington, he will reject ridiculous Green New Deal policies to end the use of fossil fuel and will fight to make sure highway funds are used as intended.

State Senate Record on Broadband:

In 2012 Frank began leading the charge in the legislature to empower telecommunications companies to modernize their operations and more easily update century-old copper lines with high-speed networks. Reforms he advocated broke through outdated regulations freeing companies to spend resources constructing the broadband build-out for millions of Ohioans.
Frank supported the 2013 operating budget which secured $10 million to connect technology centers and select large urban districts to connect to the state broadband backbone and for other connectivity upgrades necessary for K-12 school buildings with severely restricted broadband connections.
Cosponsored SB 299 in 2018 to “appropriate $1 million in both FY 2018 and FY 2019 through the Third Frontier Research and Development Fund. That money must be used to contract with one or more independent organizations that have experience working with Ohio broadband providers to collect and analyze state broadband data and do other activities regarding broadband service.”

State Senate Record of Leadership on Transportation Issues

Frank served eight years on the Senate Transportation Committee, including five as its chairman. He also served as vice-chair of the Energy & Public Utilities Committee and served for five years on the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.

2011 Transportation Budget Highlights

Required a performance audit of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Allowed ODOT to enter into public-private agreements, bringing private sector ingenuity into Ohio’s transportation infrastructure.
Eliminated late fees on license renewals and farm equipment registration.

2013 Transportation Budget Highlights

Authorized the Ohio Turnpike Commission to raise capital to improve Ohio’s turnpike system and adjacent roads and renamed it the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to issue bonds for infrastructure projects. The move stopped an unpopular push by Governor Kasich to privatize the Turnpike and unlocked resources for new infrastructure investments.
Froze turnpike fees for those using the “E-Z Pass” until 2023.
Increased Ohio speed limits to 70 mph for all vehicles at all times on all interstate freeways outside urbanized areas.

2015 Transportation Budget Highlights

Supported the trucking industry by easing vehicle operating restrictions on veterans, active duty personnel, and military reservists, if the applicant already operates a commercial motor vehicle for military purposes.
Recognized CDLs from other States when a trucker moves to Ohio.
Required ODOT to administer the federal Public Transportation Safety Program requirements applicable to rail fixed guideway systems.
Authorized pilot projects to improve bridge construction consistent with the recommendations of the Transportation Research Board.

2017 Transportation Budget Highlights

Eliminated bureaucratic red tape at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to increase convenience, including electronic Registrar notices.
Created variable speed limits to increase traffic flow.
Saved taxpayer dollars by permitting local governments and municipal corporations to consolidate services to maintain roads.