[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 135 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CELEBRATING NATIONAL TRUCK DRIVER APPRECIATION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 18, 2015

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, this week, September 13-19, is designated 
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week and is set aside to honor the 
3.4 million professional truck drivers in the United States. Trucking 
employs more than 7 million people, making it not just essential to our 
economy, but one of our country's largest sources of employment as 
well.
  Citizens in every community around the nation rely on trucks--for the 
food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the products we use. As Ranking 
Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I 
know first-hand how important truckers are to the strength and well-
being of our great nation.
  But trucks don't move without highly skilled drivers. I have long 
fought to ensure the safety of American roads and to preserve American 
trucking jobs. I have also advanced measures to ensure that all truck 
drivers have the opportunity make a decent living.
  In order for our truckers to do their jobs, they need Congress to do 
its job and pass a long-overdue, robust highways reauthorization. Truck 
drivers are on the front lines and face the effects of Congressional 
inaction every day.
  More than 147,000 bridges in the United States are structurally 
deficient or functionally obsolete (one of every four bridges). Nearly 
two thirds of the nation's roads are in less than ``good'' condition. 
Congestion is a ballooning problem, affecting 42 percent of America's 
major roads and costing the economy $121 billion a year.
  While our infrastructure has deteriorated, Congress has been asleep 
at the wheel, passing short-term patches that prolong uncertainty and 
force states to delay critical projects to fix decrepit, weight-
restricted bridges that can't handle freight trucks or pockmarked 
highways that blow out tires.
  As our needs have increased, surface transportation programs have 
been limping along with flat funding since 2009. The federal gas tax 
pays for highways and public transit, but it has not been raised in 22 
years, and its purchasing power has fallen 40 percent. We need to do 
more than the status quo.
  This must change. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is 
currently working on a bill to improve the conditions of our nation's 
roads, bridges, and intermodal facilities by reauthorizing surface 
transportation programs. A long-term bill is the only responsible 
action for Congress to take.
  Robust levels of Federal investment make a truck driver's workplace--
our highways--safer and more efficient. The Federal government needs to 
continue its leading role in promoting an interconnected interstate 
system vital to the timely movement of goods and people. This system 
must be paid for with guaranteed, sustainable funding that will bring 
our economy into the 21st Century--and not myopic solutions to replace 
a strong Federal role, such as tolling or privatization.
  National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is an opportunity to reflect 
on the vital role that truck drivers play in supporting and sustaining 
our economy and our society. The best way Congress can honor truck 
drivers is to pass a fully funded, long-term authorization bill.

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