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July 14, 2004
The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The undersigned corporations, representing more than 255,000 good-paying
American jobs, firmly believe that legislation reauthorizing the federal highway
and public transportation program currently before Congress would provide
critical benefits to all industries, all communities, all working people and
the American economy. Prompt enactment of this legislation, which has broad
bipartisan support, is critical and would create hundreds of thousands of
new jobs and avoid the inevitable layoffs that will occur if this bill continues
to be stalled in Congress. We support the reauthorization of this legislation
at the $318 billion Senate passed level. This is a good compromise between
the Administration's proposal and the U.S. DOT's documented needs.
The business case for investment in our nation's surface transportation system
is well-known, which is why policy-makers with political views as diverse
as Ronald Reagan and Ted Kennedy have agreed and worked together on public
transportation and highway programs. These investments have been and continue
to be critical to economic growth, international competitiveness, quality
of life and national security. Throughout our nation's history, economic growth,
prosperity, and opportunity have followed investments in the nation's transportation
infrastructure.
Our nation's highways and public transportation systems are the backbone
of our economy; moving people and goods, employing millions of workers, and
generating a significant share of U.S. economic activity. In fact, transportation
services generate 12 percent of our total Gross Domestic Product. Our "just-in-time"
supply chain depends on our ability to move people and freight faster than
any other country in the world. Unfortunately, our transportation infrastructure
system is ill-prepared to handle the growing volume of freight and people.
As the Administration and Congress work toward passage of this legislation,
we believe the appropriate investment blueprint for this legislation is provided
by the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2002 Conditions and Performance
Report, which identifies a federal investment need of $375 billion, necessary
to begin improving the nation's surface transportation network over the next
six years.
This investment level represents a reasonable federal commitment to the nation's
growing transportation needs that can be funded without raising the federal
gas tax or increasing the federal deficit. It maintains the important principle
that revenues in the Highway Trust Fund be used to support investment in transit,
highways, and bridges. As such, the $318 billion level approved by the Senate
complies with the tax and budget parameters identified by the President.
The $318 billion investment level would create more than two million American
jobs and help address the growing deterioration of the nation's highway, bridge
and transit infrastructure facilities. Again, these are not some ivory-tower
think tank's numbers; they are the conclusions of the Department of Transportation.
As business leaders, we believe the U.S. is facing a transportation infrastructure
crisis that can no longer be ignored. Traffic crashes cost our society $230
billion per year and inadequate roadway conditions are a factor in one-third
of these accidents. Congestion robs $70 billion per year from the U.S. economy
and denies Americans time with their families. Traffic volume has grown 125
percent nationwide in the past two decades, but still only one-quarter of
households have access to adequate public transportation. This situation will
only get worse without enacting the bill now before Congress.
This legislation has significant implications for the financial futures of
the undersigned companies. Our companies manufacture, produce, and deliver
products that are dependent on federal investment in highways and public transportation.
Future corporate growth will be ensured only with enactment of a significantly
funded transportation bill. In fact, should this bill be stalled another year,
some companies are contemplating layoffs, which would undermine the economic
recovery that has just begun.
Our nearly 300,000 employees strongly urge your support in addressing the
nation's surface transportation needs and believe now is the time to approve
a six-year authorization at a minimum of $318 billion. Our companies, and
the American people, expect nothing less.
For further information, please contact Daniel Duff at (202) 496-4860. Thank
you for your consideration and action.
Sincerely,
(List of Signatories Attached)
Gerald L. Shaheen
Group President
Caterpillar, Inc.
71,000 Employees
Oliver Hauck
President and CEO
Siemens Transportation Systems
65,000 Employees
John A. MacDonald
President
Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation
32,171 Employees
Stephen G. Hanks
President and CEO
Washington Group, Inc.
26,000 Employees
Michael D. Kennedy, PE
President, Transportation Business Group
CH2MHILL
10,500 Employees
Stuart E Graham
President and CEO
Skanska USA, Inc.
10,000 Employees
Thomas J. O'Neill
Chairman and CEO
Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc.
9,000 Employees
Ken Graham
President
HNTB Corporation
2,940 Employees
Dr. Hans F. Collenberg
Division President
Commercial Vehicle Transmissions
ZF Industries
5,972 Employees
Mr. W. Jean Floyd
Sr. VP and General Manager
Orbital/Transportation Management Systems
3,000 Employees
Fredrick W. Werner, PE
President
DMJM+Harris, Inc.
2,200 Employees
Jeffrey D. Bust
President and CEO
Blue Bird Corporation
2,000 Employees
Ronald J. Drnevich, P.E.
Chairman and CEO
Gannett Fleming, Inc.
1,900 employees
Francis Jelensperger
Sr. Vice President
ALSTOM, Inc.
1,822 Employees
Dominick M. Servedio, PE
Chairman and CEO
STV, Inc.
1,200 Employees
Kevin J. McMahon
Chairman and CEO
Edwards and Kelcey
900 Employees
Kenneth R. Burk
CEO
Union Switch and Signal, Inc.
900 Employees
Robert J. Zuelsdorf
Chairman, President and CEO
Wilbur Smith Associates
850 Employees
Dr. Andreas Strecker
President/CEO
Daimler Chrysler Commercial
Buses, N.A.
820 Employees
John Marinucci
President and CEO
New Flyer of America, Inc.
811 Employees
Kenneth M. Wightman P.E.,P.L.S.
President
David Evans and Associates, Inc.
785 Employees
Andrew Imanse
President
El Dorado National Company,
Champion Bus; Thor Industries
714 Employees
J. Daniel Garrett
Interim President and CEO of NABI, Inc
North American Bus Industries Inc.
707 Employees
Richard Johnson
President and CEO
Cubic, Inc.
700 Employees
Dennis Howard
CEO
Gillig Corporation
700 Employees
Stan L. Hasselbusch
President and CEO
L. B. Foster Company
694 Employees
Mr. Brian G. Larson
CEO
TranSystems Corporation
650 Employees
Donald R. Allen, P.E.
CEO
Jordan, Jones & Goulding, Inc.
511 Employees
Yoshinori Kanehana
President
Kawasaki Rail Car Inc., (USA)
500 Employees
John G. Haussmann
President
T.Y. Lin International
450 Employees
Dave Sharma
Chairman & CEO
TTA Group of Companies
326 Employees
Ronald P. Wells
President and CEO
Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.
260 Employees
George Dorshimer
President
LTK Engineering Services, Inc.
230 Employees
Avi Zisman
President
Mark IV IDS
210 Employees
Mr. Matthew C. French
V. P. and General Manager
AMETEK Technical & Industrial Products
196 Employees
Dale E. Carson
President and CEO
Complete Coach Works
175 Employees
Albrecht P. Engel
President and CEO
SYSTRA Consulting, Inc.
175 Employees
David L. Turney
Chairman, CEO and President
DRI, Inc.
150 Employees
James J. McDonough
President
McDonough Associates Inc.
150 employees
Michael Monteferrante
CEO
Optima Bus Corporation
150 employees
Thomas G. Rader
President
Colorado Railcar Manufacturing, LLC
135 Employees
James Pacelli
President
GFI-Genfare, Inc.
126 Employees
Michael Thomas
CEO
Spear Technologies Inc.
100 Employees
Dolf Kahle
CEO
Globe Transportation Graphics, Inc.
94 Employees
Mike Nash
General Manager
ERG Transit Systems
81 Employees
Christian Hammarskjold
President & CEO
USSC Group, Inc,
80 Employees
Gary Tolar, President
Tolar Manufacturing Company, Inc.
49 Employees
Robert Heaney
CEO
Muncie Transit Supply
45 employees
Larry Filler
President & CEO
TransitCenter, Inc.
43 employees
Jolene M. Molitoris
President and Chief Executive Officer
GeoFocus, LLC
40 Employees
Antonio Perez
CEO
Talgo, Inc.
40 Employees
George J. Peterman
Macro Corporation
President
38 Employees
Patricia A. Biedar
President/CEO
Priority Manufacturing, Inc.
38 Employees
Roland Staib
CEO
INIT Innovations in Transportation Inc.
32 Employees
Stephanie Pinson
President
Gilbert Tweed Associates, Inc.
25 Employees
Raul V. Bravo
President
Raul V. Bravo+ Associates, Inc.
25 Employees
Russell Chisholm
President
Transportation Management & Design, Inc.
20 Employees
Jan Hull, President
Trillium USA, LLC
20 Employees
James G. Srygley
CEO
S & A Systems, Inc.
13 Employees
Beverly J. Duffy
President
Lin Industries, Inc.
10 Employees
David A. Hillock
President
Transit Associates, Inc.
10 Employees
Jeffrey A. Parker
CEO
Jeffrey A. Parker & Associates
4 Employees
Sharon Greene
President
Sharon Greene and Associates
4 Employees
Stephen E. Schlickman
President
Schlickman & Associates
3 Employees
Linda McDonald
President
Transportation Marketing Strategies, LLC
1 Employee
Claude Morelli
Principal
TransNuevo, LLC
1 Employee
Herbert Pence
Principal
HAP International
1 Employee
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