PRESIDENT URGES HOUSE TO RENEW TRANSPORTATION & FAA BILLS IN ORDER TO PROTECT JOBS AND PUBLIC SAFETY

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By Miriam Raftery

“Ten years ago, our nation’s infrastructure was ranked 6th globally. Today, it’s 23rd. We invest half as much in our infrastructure as we did 50 years ago, with more than one and a half the number of people.” – President Barack Obama

 

September 4, 2011 (Washington D.C.) – President Barack Obama issued a Labor Day weekend address urging the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to renew the transportation bill which is set to expire at the end of this month.   The issue affects thousands of American workers, as well as millions of Americans who drive on our nation’s roads and bridges. 

 

“This bill provides funding for highway construction, bridge repair, mass transit systems and other essential projects,” said the President, adding that for construction workers and their families across the country, it represents the difference between making ends meet or not making ends meet. “If we allow the transportation bill to expire, over 4,000 workers will be immediately furloughed without pay. If it’s delayed for just 10 days, it will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding -- that's money we can never get back. And if it’s delayed even longer, almost one million workers could lose their jobs over the course of the next year.”

 

President Obama called it “inexcusable to put more jobs at risk in an industry that’s already been one of the hardest hit over the last decade.” He further observed that investments are needed at a time when many highways are choked with congestion,  bridges are in need of repair, commuters depend on reliable public transit, and travel or shipping delays cost businesses billions of dollars every single year.

 

This marks the second time this summer that the  House has stalled a key transportation and jobs-related extension.  A few weeks ago, House leaders refused to act on another typically routine bill to extend funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).   Congress approved a short-term funding measure only through September 16 to forestall airport improvement projects.

 

“That’s why, when they come back next month, not only do they need to pass the transportation bill but they've also got to pass a clean extension of that FAA bill -- for longer this time -- and address back pay for the workers who were laid off during the last shutdown,” the President said.  “At a time when a lot of people in Washington are talking about creating jobs, it’s time to stop the political gamesmanship that can actually cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs.  This should not be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue,” he added, noting that the transportation bill has been renewed seven times in the last two years alone.

 

To drive home his point, the President was joined by leaders of two organizations that don’t always see eye-to-eye, David Chavern from the Chamber of Commerce, and Rich Trumka of the AFL-CIO, both in agreement that passage of these measures is critical for the U.S. economy. 

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, a Republican, also stands with the President in calling on Congress to renew the Transportation and FAA bills. 

 

“Because of congressional inaction, the FAA has been forced to issue some 200 stop-work orders — and turn 70,000 construction workers away from their jobs at airports across the country. The FAA also was left with no choice but to put approximately 4,000 public servants on unpaid leave in 35 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico,” La Haye said on August 31. “Every day this situation goes on, the consequences mount. Runway paving, rehabilitation and extension projects are on hold. America’s transition from the radar-based airspace management system of the 20th century to the satellite-based airspace management system of the future is at a standstill.” 

 

Renewing the measures will “give workers and communities across America the confidence that vital construction projects won’t come to a halt,” President Obama said.

 

Once the measures are approved, the president also pledged to reform how transportation money is invested,  eliminate waste,  give states more control over projects,  and to make sure that we’re “getting better results for the money that we spend. We need to stop funding projects based on whose district they’re in, and start funding them based on how much good they’re going to be doing for the American people,” he concluded. “No more bridges to nowhere. No more projects that are simply funded because of somebody pulling strings. And we need to do this all in a way that gets the private sector more involved. That’s how we’re going to put construction workers back to work right now doing the work that America needs done -- not just to boost our economy this year, but for the next 20 years.”

 

But the Obama administration faces tough hurdles from Republicans in the House.  

 

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that after seven previous extensions of those federal transport programs, “I will agree to one additional highway program extension.” But he would not immediately support Obama’s call for Congress to also extend aviation tax collections and spending programs that run out at mid-month, in order to avoid another partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration like the one in late July to early August, the Journal of Commerce reported on September 1.

 

The President also acted this week on recommendation from his Jobs Council and directed key federal agencies to identify high-priority infrastructure projects that can put people back to work. He asked for expediting permits for the already-approved projects to get construction underway.

 

“Tomorrow in Dallas, my Jobs Council will meet with local jobs -- local business owners and other folks about what we’ve done so far to rebuild our infrastructure and what we can do to make sure that America is moving even faster in getting people back to work,” he added.

 

“Ten years ago, our nation’s infrastructure was ranked 6th globally. Today, it’s 23rd. We invest half as much in our infrastructure as we did 50 years ago, with more than one and a half the number of people. Everybody can see the consequences,” said the president. “That’s unacceptable for a nation that’s always dreamed big and built big -- from transcontinental railroads to the Interstate Highway System. And it’s unacceptable when countries like China are building high-speed rail networks and gleaming new airports while more than a million construction workers who could be doing the same thing are unemployed right here in America.”

 

Republicans used their weekly address to push for passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and attacked President Obama over his approach to job creation. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., complained that the administration has spent too much money on stimulus initiatives that didn't work while piling on regulations. 

 

"While our workers are being held back by Washington, there's nothing in place to stop the federal government from bankrolling further big government spending – the kind that leads to government expansion into private-sector jobs, burdensome mandates on job creators and skyrocketing national debt," Goodlatte said.

 

The President, however, announced plans to have a “serious conversation” once Congress reconvenes about making “real, lasting investments in our infrastructure -- from better ports to a smarter electric grid; from high-speed Internet to high-speed rail. And at a time when interest rates are low and workers are unemployed, the best time to make those investments is right now -- not once another levee fails or another bridge falls. Right now is when we need to be making these decisions.”

 

He concluded, “Now is the time for Congress to extend the transportation bill, keep our workers on the job. Now is the time to put our country before party and to give certainty to the people who are just trying to get by. There is work to be done. There are workers ready to do it. And that's why I expect Congress to act immediately.”

 


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