FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jenifer McCormick
202-628-9262
JeniferM@ttd.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, offers the following statement concerning President Bush’s anticipated request for an additional $50 billion in emergency Iraq war spending:
“Where’s the President’s emergency funding request to address America’s crumbling transportation infrastructure?
“In the month since the horrific collapse of the Minneapolis bridge, President Bush has done nothing to lead the debate about how to best invest in and rebuild America’s transportation network.
“One of every eight bridges in this country is structurally deficient. The President has ignored calls for more and better public transportation and highways. Our airports and air traffic control system and employees are chronically under-funded as congestion in our skies threatens to choke the economy. For seven years, the President has proposed funding levels that would bankrupt Amtrak and abandon its 25 million riders and 20,000 workers. And the Administration has virtually ignored the security risks for rail, mass transit and our ports.
“The catastrophe in Minnesota was just a glimpse into the looming crisis Americans face with a transportation infrastructure that is disintegrating before our eyes. Our economy will crumble along with our infrastructure unless elected leaders find the political will to develop and fund solutions.
“This Administration has demonstrated it will not lead. Congress must lead, and must demonstrate that it is ready to act in this country’s best interests.”
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TTD represents 32 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit ttd.org