On the recordJune 18, 2014
The highway trust fund will be broke by the end of July. This is right in the middle of road construction season. In Erie and Niagara counties, we have almost 400 bridges that are structurally deficient. This is unacceptable and just a small representation of the crumbling infrastructure nationwide. Congress should be increasing our investment in nation-building right here at home, not cutting back; but, Mr. Speaker, doing this at the expense of the United States Postal Service by eliminating Saturday delivery is not the answer. This is a one-time fix that does not actually provide a long-term solution to our Nation's transportation funding problem. Furthermore, this hurts small businesses and other Americans who rely on the ability to receive paper mail on Saturday. It eliminates jobs for postal workers and would create a significant loss of mail volume and revenue for the Postal Service. Reports today indicate this plan may be dropped, and I hope that is the case. I urge my colleagues to reject this misguided proposal and explore more reasonable and effective solutions to restore the highway trust fund. ____________________





