Norton to Chair First Highways & Transit Subcommittee Hearing of 117th Congress, Today
WASHINGTON, D.C – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, released her opening statement in advance of today's subcommittee hearing on equity in transportation safety enforcement. The hearing, the subcommittee's first of the 117th Congress, begins at 11 a.m. Her opening statement, as prepared for delivery, follows.
Statement of
The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Hearing on "Examining Equity in Transportation Safety Enforcement"
February 24, 2021
Welcome to today's hearing. We will be discussing the use of enforcement to promote traffic safety and the equity implications of it. This is the first Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing of the 117th Congress, which shows the importance of this issue and my commitment to making our highways and roadways safer and free from discrimination for all users.
This Subcommittee authorizes funding for States, Tribes and U.S. Territories to pursue traffic safety efforts through the State and Community Highway Safety Program, commonly referred to as "Section 402." We also authorize tiered grants aimed at addressing national traffic safety priorities, commonly referred to as "Section 405." States can spend their traffic safety funds on a variety of activities, such as community education and outreach on the importance of using seat belts or improvements to State traffic record databases. States can also spend their funds on enforcement of traffic safety laws. A large portion of State traffic safety grants go to law enforcement agencies. In fiscal year 2018, States spent over $200 million of their Section 402 and Section 405 funds on law enforcement.
It is estimated that more than 20 million drivers are pulled over each year, making traffic stops one of the primary interactions between the public and law enforcement, so it is crucial we understand how, and against whom, traffic safety laws are enforced. Today, we will hear witnesses describe not only the impacts of traffic safety enforcement, which disproportionately affect people of color, but methods to improve trust between communities and law enforcement to bring about safe, equitable and just outcomes in these interactions.
We will also hear about the importance of using traffic safety resources to address problems that lead to injuries and deaths – such as impaired driving --
rather than for traffic stops that are used as a sweeping tool to interact with communities. Targeting resources is necessary to ensure that we actually move the needle on traffic safety.
I am especially interested to hear testimony from Ken Barone of Central Connecticut State University. He is the Program Manager of the State of Connecticut's Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, which is supported by a grant program I championed to prohibit racial profiling, known as Section 1906, that has been a great success. It is my understanding that other States are seeking to replicate the Connecticut model, so I am very much looking forward to hearing more about that program.
Thank you all for participating in today's hearing, and I look forward to learning more about what this Committee can do to ensure that traffic safety enforcement is both fair and safe for all Americans.