Southern California Leaders Commend Bipartisan
Support of America’s Transportation Infrastructure
Mobility 21 Officials Highlight Key Provisions to Accelerate Jobs
IRVINE, Calif. – Southern California’s leaders applaud the bipartisan group of U.S. senators for outlining a new federal transportation program called “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” or MAP-21.
At its strategic planning meeting in Orange County, Calif., members of Mobility 21 – a bipartisan transportation advocacy group of business and government – specifically expressed their thanks to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senator David Vitter (R-La.) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for taking the necessary steps to improve transportation investment for America’s future. Mobility 21 represents seven counties and 21 million residents of Southern California. Mobility 21 also issued a call to move swiftly to pass MAP-21 incorporating these key provisions:
- America Fast Forward – a program to stretch federal dollars for locally approved and funded transportation projects to take advantage of low construction costs and create hundreds of thousands of jobs at significant savings to American taxpayers. This adds funding to Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Investment Act (TIFIA) projects.
- Breaking Down Barriers – a national initiative to expedite project delivery without sacrificing the environment or the rights of people to be heard which will accelerate the creation of more than 800,000 much-needed jobs across America.
- Goods Movement – a strong, focused freight delivery program that efficiently moves goods throughout the nation and beyond. This would sustain nearly 1 million jobs in Southern California and an additional 2 million jobs nationwide.
“The faster our federal partners can match local investments, the sooner we can create jobs to help lead our nation on the fast road to recovery,” said Mobility 21 Chairman Will Kempton, the CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority. “The inclusion of these three provisions in MAP-21 is critical to a successful roadmap to creating good-paying American jobs. With our sleeves rolled up, we stand ready in Southern California for our federal partners to work with us and win for America’s future.”
Gary Toebben, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO and Mobility 21 Vice Chairman echoed the bipartisan support: “These four Congressional leaders are exercising courage and vision to get the job done for millions of Americans that count on them. Bipartisan leadership in transportation undoubtedly will help businesses and workers fuel our economic recovery and return America to a position of economic leadership.”
Mobility 21 officials are encouraging stakeholders and citizens to contact their Congressional representatives to voice strong support for the principles of MAP-21 including these critical provisions.
For more information, click on Mobility 21’s website at www.mobility21.com or contact Mobility 21 Executive Director, Marnie O’Brien Primmer, at mprimmer@mobility21.com.