It isn't every day that a high-ranking official of the federal government speaks at a local venue.

It's even rarer that residents get a chance to pepper him with questions about one of the area's most problematic issues transportation.

Christine Lomuscio's introduction, "The Honorable Emil G. Frankel, assistant secretary for transportation policy, United States Department of Transportation," indicated the responsibility Frankel holds in the current administration, but the Weston resident quickly dispensed with the formalities, saying he felt he was among friends Friday when he visited Weston Friday to give a talk at the public library.  He described his perception of the evening as not so much a speech but more a conversation.

Lomuscio was the program chair for the event, which was arranged by the League of Women Voters of Weston. In the works for over a year, it was delayed by machinations on Capitol Hill as well as by guidelines governing the conduct of soon-to-be federal employees.  Frankel, an attorney, previously headed up the Connecticut Department of Transportation, under Gov. Lowell Weicker.

Frankel's curriculum vitae is extensive and reveals a real passion for transportation and public policy issues. One of his primary areas of interest is the interface between transportation, energy and the environment.  He was tapped by the Bush administration for the position of assistant secretary earlier this year. A drawn out process, reported previously in the Westport News, started with the announcement of an "intention to nominate." He was subsequently nominated but Capitol Hill machinations placed his approval in limbo. He was eventually allowed begin work in his new post.

Frankel has been commuting back and forth weekly between Weston and Washington, D.C. "So far the transportation system has not failed," he quipped.

On the DOT

Describing himself as a facilitator or quarterback, Frankel gave a synopsis of what the Department of Transportation (DOT) is about and what his role has been so far. A primary focus of the DOT has been legislation that will allow re-authorization of federal transportation funding which runs to the tune of about $40 billion a year. Frankel has been speaking all over the country about the bill.

The DOT encompasses several entities, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit
Administration (FTA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Coast Guard and the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which employs airport security personnel. Frankel characterizes the DOT as essentially a grant-making and regulating body.

Frankel, who has a background in real estate, business reorganization and law said transportation public policy issues "have become my passion for the last 12 years."

"People don't notice the transportation system unless it fails," he said, adding that it affects everything people do. "A healthy economy is based upon a transportation system that's healthy and efficient."

Sept. 11, 2001

Frankel was in Stamford Sept. 11, 2001. While he is not directly involved with aviation security issues, some of his colleagues at the DOT are. He said "the bunker" in Washington was used because there was reason to believe that the plane that went down in Pennsylvania may have had the White House as its target. "Almost 5,000 planes were grounded, pulled out of the sky," he said.

The DOT has spent an immense amount of time and effort on aviation and aviation security issues since Sept, 11, according to Frankel. It still dominates most of the time of Mineta and Michael Jackson," he explained, referring to DOT Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and DOT Deputy Secretary Michael P. Jackson. "Some issues are still not resolved."

Some of the problems with airport security include budget considerations and a cap of 45,000 employees. A whole new agency/ organization has been created that didn't exist, Frankel explained.

"Most of the airlines were losing money on Sept. 10," Frankel observed, regarding the effects of Sept. 11 on the airline industry.

The real question, he believes, is "What's the role of the federal government? Should we bail them out?" There is a bias against bailing out private companies but there are a lot of jobs at stake, even close to home at companies such as Pratt & Whitney, he explained. "These are really tough public policy issues." He thinks consolidation of the airline industry is a possibility.

Speaking to the problem of security, Frankel put the task at hand into perspective. "Millions of containers come into our ports every year," he said. "What are we prepared to give up? Not only in terms of our lifestyles but also our economy?" It's a balancing act, he says, a tradeoff between
security, cost and delays. "We can't eliminate all risks. What cost are we willing to pay to reduce the risk? The issues are quite challenging."

Railroads

Frankel said he was committed to the preservation of Amtrak when he was head of the Connecticut DOT. He noted that he used rail to get back and forth to Washington in the wake of Sept. 11 when planes were grounded. He feels that kind of redundancy is important. "We are still working on defining a consensus of opinion on intercity rail," he noted.

Questioned about Amtrak, Frankel cited Mineta, saying passenger rail is and must be an integral part of the transportation system. "The way we're doing it has got to change," he said. Some long-distance routes are highly subsidized, he explained, some as much as $100 to $200 per passenger.

Questions

Responding to a question about local traffic problems from Jim Lomuscio, Frankel got a big laugh when he said, "I'm no longer responsible for pot holes." He told the crowd that one thing they should not expect to see is a double-decker I-95. He quoted the cost of adding one lane to I-95, in one direction, from Darien to Stamford [about 3 miles] as $75 million. The implication being that the cost of double-decking I-95 would be prohibitive.

He reminded everyone that around $1.5 billion must be spent in the future on maintaining or upgrading existing transportation infrastructure. As an example, he pointed out the overhead electrical catenary system used locally is 100 years old.

Frankel is fairly positive about the high-speed ferry terminals that have been suggested for Bridgeport and Stamford. "I think they can play an important role," he said, but added that he thought there would be some "not-in-my-town," land-based issues to overcome.

He characterized himself as anti-regulatory. "How the money is spent should be determined locally by states, metropolitan areas and regions."

One attendee suggested that congestion would be lessened if more freight was moved by rail and the number of trucks were reduced. Frankel observed that there is very little freight rail in New England, let alone Connecticut. There are major problems with the height of the overhead power supply and the size of bridges and tunnels.

He explained that, in order for rail freight to cross the Hudson River, trains must go all the way up to Albany, N.Y. Frankel did allow that an increasing amount of congestion is caused by trucks but noted that reducing trucks right now would cause the economy to suffer. He did say there is a major commitment to look at rail freight and marine freight issues. "We have to do more in terms of intermodal movements," he agreed.

When asked if the DOT tried to look ahead 20 or 30 years. Frankel explained that part of his original job description was to head up a transportation policy think tank.  He is optimistic about new technologies, including fuel cells, and made the prediction that new technologies will deal with air quality and global warming issues in the next 20 or so years.

One audience member complained about emission stickers for cars, saying that 14 times more pollution is caused by trucks. Frankel got another laugh when he said, "That's EPA."

He explained that emission controls on cars were a good first step at the time. "It's less critical today because of better technology in cars. Emissions are a tiny percentage of what they were 20 years ago."

He pointed out that restrictions on diesel truck engines went into effect Oct. 1 and noted that plans call for stricter regulations within a few years. He also noted that there are other contributing factors that are unregulated such as boats, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and other sources.

He explained the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires certain meetings and conversations to be noticed and open in order to adhere to Freedom of Information (FOI) requirements. "The rules don't make it so easy to get experts to talk," he said.

One audience member asked if there was a possibility of a terrorist attack on the rail system. Frankel said he had no knowledge that he could relate but did say the possibility was being taken seriously and discussed. "Nothing's perfect," he said and asked, "Would we put up with a screening process for rail?"

The only question of the night that Frankel danced around regarded the potential impact of a casino in Bridgeport, as proposed by the Golden Hill Paugussetts. Ultimately, he recused himself, saying that the law firm he was with did some work related to the subject for the Southwestern Area Commerce & Industry Association of Connecticut (SACIA).

The South West Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) had Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart Inc. update its 1995 analysis of the potential impact of a casino in Bridgeport. Interested parties can access the July 2001 report online at www.swrpa.org   - additional information on tribal casinos in the region can be found at www.sacia.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Many area residents were affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but few can help guard the nation against future incidents.

Emil Frankel of Weston is one of them.

A former attorney at the law firm of Day Berry & Howard LLP in Stamford, Frankel in August became a top official at the U.S. Department of
Transportation.

Since Sept. 11, a few weeks after he joined the DOT as a consultant, Frankel has occupied a front-row seat as the federal government overhauls its policies on air travel and other transportation issues.

"I certainly was a witness to some remarkable things.  I mean, just being here, being in staff meetings and observing the process -- it was really quite extraordinary," he said during a recent interview at DOT headquarters.

As assistant secretary for transportation policy, a position he officially assumed several weeks ago, Frankel is not involved in direct responses to the tragedy, such as the fledgling Transportation Security Administration, or changes to aviation laws.

But the issues are unavoidable, because the former Connecticut DOT commissioner -- whose new job entails formulating the nation's transportation policies -- readies legislation covering federal programs for every mode of ground travel.

"Proposals have been made about using federal funds to harden assets -- you know, rebuild bridges and tunnels . . . so that they're more resistant to bombs," he said. "I'm not saying that's going to happen, I'm just saying these are the sort of things that have been talked about -- having better surveillance on the transportation system, or . . . just more protection."

On a recent day, a few blocks from the National Mall, government workers ate lunch next to fountains in a plaza beneath the looming concrete complex that houses the DOT.

Several flights up, Frankel sat in a temporary office where one of the few decorations was a certificate President Bush signed several weeks ago granting him a "recess appointment" as assistant transportation secretary for policy.

It was the middle of a several momentous days for Frankel, which included his swearing-in ceremony, his 62nd birthday and his first appearance before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee.

The topic of his congressional testimony was intermodalism, the interaction between different forms of transportation. It is a subject Frankel knows first-hand, as he travels to LaGuardia International Airport each Monday morning, flies to Washington and spends the week there before returning to Weston on Friday night.

Frankel initially split time between Washington and Day Berry & Howard, but by mid-October he was at the DOT five days a week.

He was in his Stamford office Sept. 11, but Frankel, a Weston selectman at the time, returned to Washington by train two days later.

Along with the horror all Americans felt that week, Frankel said he started thinking about transportation issues raised by the tragedy -- and he has not stopped.

"How do you deal with the airline industry? How do you provide security? How do you deal with the vulnerabilities in the transportation system without . . .destroying its efficiency and productivity?" Frankel said. "And there are a lot of still quite unresolved and very difficult policy issues."

One industry whose security falls under Frankel's purview is shipping. The government inspects few of the millions of containers that enter the country each year, he said, meaning terrorists could smuggle in items such as bombs.

As the DOT grapples with security issues, traditional transportation problems, such as traffic congestion in Fairfield County, have been forced to the back burner at the federal level.

"That does remain a very important issue, but Sept. 11 intervened, and suddenly people's priorities changed," Frankel said.

He knows about the area traffic problems from his tenure as state DOT commissioner from 1991-95 and the daily trips he made from Weston to his Stamford law office for six years.

His commute is much longer since he started working in Washington, but it is not the farthest Frankel has traveled for a job. For more than a year in the mid-1980s, he flew to his office in Los Angeles each Monday.

The weekly Washington trips will continue until at least fall 2003, when the time limit elapses on the recess appointment Bush granted over Congress's Easter break.

The president took that action to bypass the Senate confirmation process, because U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., had delayed Frankel's approval since his nomination in an attempt to muster support for an Amtrak-related bill.

Bush can renominate Frankel if the Senate does not hold his confirmation hearing by next year.

Meanwhile, Frankel is enjoying his return to Washington after 30 years away from federal government. He served as a legislative aide after earning a law degree and later worked at the department of Housing and Urban Development, which is across the street from DOT headquarters.

Though he decided not to relocate permanently, Frankel will rent an apartment in Washington, where his wife will spend some of her time. He also will move into a permanent office, now that Bush has made him an official DOT employee.

Frankel called Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta "a terrific person to work for." He said he enjoys his new job.

"It's certainly one of the most intellectually demanding and challenging experiences I've ever had," Frankel said.

 Copyright © 2002, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.