Low-income workers face multiple barriers to advancement according to a study by Reconnecting America with Urban Habitat and support from the Great Communities Collaborative.

$code Chairman Denham, Ranking Member Brown, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.  I am John Robert Smith, Co-Chair of Transportation for America, the country’s broadest and most diverse transportation coalition.  Our members hail from the fields of transportation, housing, environment, public health, real estate, safety, and social equity, representing more than 500 different organizations.   I am also the President and CEO of Reconnecting America, a national nonprofit that integrates transportation and community development.  Reconnecting America is the managing partner of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, which conducts research and promotes best practices in development along transit lines. I would like to thank the Subcommittee for holding this hearing on the role of innovative finance in intercity passenger rail.  Functional, safe, and efficient transportation systems are one of the cornerstones upon which this…

I commend the leaders of the Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, Chairman Patty Murray and Ranking Member Susan Collins, for the passage of their bipartisan bill funding critical housing and transportation programs. The investments called for in this bill in our transit, rail, and road networks and in neighborhoods and communities across the country will strengthen America's economic resilience and improve the daily lives of millions of families. Of particular importance are the HUD Integrated Planning and Investment Grants. The $75 million set aside for this program will support integrated regional and local planning for housing, transportation, and other infrastructure in urban and rural areas around the country. By coordinating regional investment and implementation strategies, this funding will help to create stronger communities for all while getting the most out of every dollar invested. I am also extremely pleased to see continued focus on improving and…

Reconnecting America and its partners in Mile High Connects today released "A Station Area Typology of Economic Opportunity: A Guide to Better Connecting Transit, Jobs and Workforce Development in the Denver Region." The report provides an overview of the benefits to employers and workforce training providers of locating near transit and identifies the barriers that often prevent them from choosing a transit-oriented location. The report also includes a typology tool for determining the best locations to attract, retain and grow businesses in transit-oriented locations, using Denver's East and West Lines as case studies.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) Today, transportation generally and passenger rail in particular, lost a dear friend and valiant advocate with the passing of New Jersey U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Of the many trusted relationships I have formed through my work in transportation, my association with Sen. Lautenberg is one of the most highly valued. As the mayor of my hometown of Meridian, Miss., I worked closely with Sen. Trent Lott in the support of a national passenger rail network linking America's cities and towns, large and small. It was in the thick of that effort that I got to know Sen. Lautenberg and first realized the strength of that national system, which served both small town Mississippi and the rural South, and metropolitan New Jersey and the densely populated Northeast. It was my good fortune to work with two statesmen, one a conservative Republican from Mississippi, the other a liberal Democrat from New Jersey, who did not let party affiliation or geographic…

Reconnecting America, as a partner in Livability Solutions, has been selected to provide technical assistance to the Seattle Department of Planning & Development and Valley Metro in Phoenix as part of a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program.

Reconnecting America has completed an analysis of the economic and workforce development impacts of Denver's Southeast Rail Line and concluded that the 6-year-old light rail line has only supplemented what is already there, instead of acting as a driver of economic opportunity for residents of the region. This is the first in a series of reports by the Mile High Connects examining the opportunities and challenges of connecting middle-skill workers to economic opportunities through improved transit service and is meant to inform the planning of current and future transit corridors in the Denver region.

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith issued the following response to President Obama's State of the Union address: