AASHTO Journal, 18 January 2013
Joining American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director John Horsley (see related story: bit.ly/HTFsolvencystory) at the Transportation Research Board’s Chairman’s Luncheon on Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood listed several of the Administration’s transportation achievements during the President’s first term.
“President Obama had a vision, a vision of an America built to last. Over the last four years, we have made unprecedented investments in our nation’s transportation system,” LaHood said. “We’ve put people to work on our roads, on our bridges, on our rails in communities big and small. I think as a result of the work that we’ve done with many of you in this room as partners, we’ve made it easier to ride a bike, hop on a train, or catch a bus.”
Another focus area of LaHood’s speech was the importance of safety.
“Safety is our number one priority,” LaHood said. “Many of you have heard me say thousands of people today boarded planes, buses, trains, and automobiles without thinking about whether the plane was safe or the pilot was well-trained or the bus driver was property licensed. That’s what we think about at DOT. Every day all of us think about safety so the American people don’t have to worry about it.”
LaHood closed his remarks with a call for transportation officials to make sure they get involved and continue the conversation on how to fund transportation infrastructure in the future to make necessary investments.
“The next big challenge for transportation will be to help Congress put together the next transportation bill. The only reason MAP-21 is a two-year bill is because that’s all the money that Congress could find,” LaHood said to the crowd. “We need more than a two-year bill. We need certainty. We need to be able to give the states and transportation officials all over this country certainty. A five- or six-year bill gives that certainty. The big debate over the next two years in putting together the next transportation bill is not about what America needs. We all know those needs. The debate in Washington and in America when it comes to infrastructure is how do we pay for it? We need to make sure we don’t become a second class country when it comes to infrastructure. You need to be a part of the debate.”
LaHood expanded on his speech on his blog, available at bit.ly/LaHoodTRB.