Skip to main content

Transport investment bill plea in open letter to US Congress

A partnership of American road and transport-minded bodies and individuals has delivered an open letter to Congress urging the approval of the multi-year surface transport investment bill. More than 1,000 entities signed the letter from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) coalition.
March 15, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA partnership of American road and transport-minded bodies and individuals has delivered an open letter to Congress urging the approval of the multi-year surface transport investment bill. More than 1,000 entities signed the letter from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led 3952 Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) coalition. The ATM’s delivery of the letter, on Wednesday, 25 January, marked the launch of the new ARTBA and ATM advertising and grassroots campaign, 'Make Transportation Job #1,' stressing the need for what it believes is a long overdue piece of legislation.

The current highway and transit authorisation law, known as SAFETEA-LU, expired nearly 850 days ago. The programmes have been operating under a series of short-term funding extensions since October 1, 2009, and the current one ends on March 31 2012.

“Our message to the Congress is simple: ‘It’s time to do your job,” said ARTBA president Pete Ruane. “Pass a properly-funded surface transportation bill to kick-start the economy and get America moving again.”

The ARTBA and ATM coalition is running a six-digit figure ad campaign in Washington and key states and districts around the country over the month of February, including television, radio and on-line ads. The ‘Make Transportation Job #1’ campaign will also include a radio tour and a grassroots initiative during the congressional recess.

ARTBA is supporting the activities of ATM through its ‘Transportation Makes America Work’ (TMAW) campaign, a long-term communications and advocacy programme aimed at building public and political support for new transportation investments. Under TMAW, the association will soon broadcast a television advert featuring transport-related speech excerpts from former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, while calling on members of Congress to work together to complete action on the bill. The ATM is a nationwide effort by business, labour, transport groups and concerned citizens to advocate for improved and increased investment in the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • PPRS 2018: a Nice place to be
    August 4, 2017
    Maintenance, Modernisation, Adaptation of Roads and Streets for Tomorrow’s Mobility – these are the key themes for the upcoming Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit (PPRS) in Nice, France, March 26-28 next year. Meeting the mobility challenges is more essential than ever in a rapidly changing global context. Speakers at the event, to take place at the Nice Acropolis, will include Peter Schmitz (Germany), Shigeru Kikukawa (Japan) and David Winter (US).
  • Colombia’s ANI agency is driving forward the 4G PPP programme
    April 4, 2016
    Andrade Moreno is a man on a mission. The head of Colombia's infrastructure agency ANI explains how the organisation is giving foreign companies increasing confidence to invest time and money in the country. David Arminas reports Change, especially when it touches the highest levels of South American business and politics, can bring with it personal danger. Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno, president of Colombia's National Infrastructure Agency - ANI - was aware of this when he took on the role in 2011. B
  • Public-private participation for highway law enforcement
    April 18, 2017
    In some countries, public-private partnerships for road traffic law enforcement are helping to greatly reduce traffic fatalities. But careful implementation is essential, according to a new white paper. Big brother is watching you. Speed cameras are just a cash cow for local authorities. Police use them to keep their speeding ticket statistics high. The list of suspicions goes on. But there is nothing suspicious about road deaths, says Philip Wijers, chairman of the sub-committee on enforcement at the US-ba
  • Launch of landmark IRF Vienna Manifesto on ITS at World Congress
    November 1, 2012
    The culmination of extensive deliberation and work over the past few years by IRF Geneva’s Policy Committee on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), The IRF Vienna Manifesto on ITS – Smart Transport Policies for Sustainable Mobility will be the object of a high-profile launch during the forthcoming 19th ITS World Congress, to be held in the Austrian capital from 22-26 October 2012. The Manifesto brings together key policy arguments for investing in ITS as well as a set of supporting policy recommendations. I