WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement in support of the Invest in American Jobs Act (H.R.949) introduced by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and other U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members:
“A vote for this jobs bill is a vote to directly boost our economy by bolstering our transportation and manufacturing sectors and ensuring that tax-payer dollars are wisely spent here at home.
“This is exactly the kind of opportunity Congress must seize upon to put people back to work and create good-paying, middle-class jobs. This bill would help our manufacturing sector regain its competitive edge by putting some real teeth in our Buy America laws; it would make them more transparent, crack down on unnecessary waivers and eliminate agency-specific ambiguities. It also would require all streetcars, trains and buses, as well as aviation facilities and equipment purchased with federal funds, to be 100 percent made in America by 2017.
“As we continue to improve our surface transportation system with the money authorized by MAP-21, and commit to large procurements on California and Amtrak high-speed rail cars and in cities such as Chicago, we must have laws in place that ensure our federal dollars are being spent in a way that will maximize the economic impact of transportation investments. We applaud Rep. Rahall for his leadership, and thank the co-sponsors of this legislation who recognize U.S.-made materials, goods and equipment should be used when we invest in U.S. transportation projects. The American people expect it, transportation labor supports it and U.S. manufacturers and their workers will benefit from it.
“Congress failed to pass a similar bill last year. Let’s hope, for the sake of American families, that lawmakers seize this chance to use federal transportation investments to put Americans to work.”
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The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, represents 33 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, motor carrier, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit us at ttd.org or on Facebook and Twitter.
CONTACT: Jennifer Michels, jenniferm@ttd.org, 202.628.9262, 703.395.219