Kent Conrad: “I was very pleased to support the nomination of Norman Mineta to be Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Mineta has had a…”

“I was very pleased to support the nomination of Norman Mineta to be Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Mineta has had a long and distinguished career in public service. Most recently, he served with distinction as Secretary of Commerce. Before that, he served for many years in the House of Representatives, where he rose to become Chairman of the Transportation Committee. With that background, Mr. Mineta could not be better prepared for the challenges he will face. One of this country's great competitive advantages in the global economy has been our transportation infrastructure, which allows us to move raw materials to processing plants and finished products to markets around the world with great efficiency. However, our infrastructure is starting to show its age. Our roads and airports, in particular, are increasingly congested, and delays are costing our economy tens of billions of dollars annually. In recent years, the Congress has dramatically increased our national commitment to highway and airport funding to make sure our infrastructure is up to the standards and challenges of the twenty-first century. Our next Secretary of Transportation will have the important task of implementing these legislative initiatives as well as helping to negotiate the next highway bill. As he takes on these challenges, I hope Secretary Mineta will keep in mind some of the concerns of primarily rural states like North Dakota.”