On the recordJune 29, 2012
As with health care in the aftermath of yesterday's landmark Supreme Court decision, it's now time to move forward and put the divisiveness which has plagued the enactment of a surface transportation reauthorization bill for the first time in decades behind us and coalesce in support of the pending conference agreement. This bill makes a sound investment in America. Fifty-six years ago, a Democratic Congress and a Republican President came together. And on this day in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which established the interstate system of highways. This historic piece of legislation created a transportation system in this country that awed the world. Yet in recent decades, our roads, bridges, trains, and transit systems have slipped into decline because we have failed to make the necessary investments to improve the condition and performance of this network. The pending legislation will not completely reverse the course of this decline, but, at the very least, States will see no reduction in the infrastructure investment funding that they desperately need to tackle crumbling roadways, deficient bridges, and to secure rail- highway grade crossings. The States and transportation contractors will have the ability to count on a stable source of funding through fiscal year 2014, sustaining and creating jobs, and enhancing the mobility and safety of American motorists.…
