On Wednesday, President Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined business and labor leaders to call on Congress to pass a clean extension of key transportation programs to protect critical jobs and bolster our roads, bridges, runways and railways.
State and local leaders around the country are echoing the President’s call and urging Congress to quickly pass a surface transportation bill to make sure our nation continues to invest in infrastructure and keep nearly a million construction and other workers on the job.
128 bi-partisan mayors from 36 states signed a letter to Congressional leaders asking for a timely extension of the nation’s transportation laws:
For generations both parties have recognized the need to construct and improve a national transportation network, and we built a world-class system that has moved goods and people efficiently for decades. Today, there is growing anxiety that for the first time in decades Congress could fail to continue to fund our national transportation system…We cannot afford to undermine our competitiveness over the long-term, while immediately eliminating hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs during this challenging economic time…We strongly urge Congress to send a clean extension of our nation’s surface transportation program to the President for his immediate signature.
In addition, many other state and local leaders spoke out about the urgency of transportation reauthorization.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick:
Under our Administration, we have made historic investments in our public infrastructure to create jobs and leave this Commonwealth better for the next generation. I join the President in calling upon Congress to move forward with this reauthorization so that we can keep Massachusetts workers on the job, and continue to support our infrastructure needs.
Los Angeles, California Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:
It’s time for Congress to move with purpose on the one issue most Americans will be pondering this Labor Day: how to keep or find a good job.The very first step Congress must take when it reconvenes this Tuesday is to pass the Surface Transportation Bill. With nearly 2 million jobs on the line, and an historic unemployment across the country, there is no more important issue facing Congress. This is job one…American workers are concerned with a paycheck, not partisanship. Congress must put politics aside and the people first. Let's get the job done and keep these nearly 2 million Americans on the job.
Fonte: White House