President calls on Congress to pass clean extension of Transportation Bill

This morning at a White House briefing in the Rose Garden, President Obama, flanked by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka and officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called upon Congress to pass a clean extension of the surface transportation bill immediately upon their return next week. Emphasizing the importance of infrastructure investment on jobs and the economy he called upon Congress to stop the partisan gamesmanship and put the country first.

Given the current efforts in Congress to strip away funding for programs important to the bicycling community such as; Transportation Enhancements; Safe Routes to Schools; and Recreational Trails program, the League wholeheartedly supports the President’s message to Congress. We look forward to working with his Administration and supporters in Congress to see that a clean extension of the current transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) is past. A clean extension means that all current programs in SAFETEA-LU will forgo any cuts or policy changes. Communities across the country will be able to continue to build upon the successes of the past decades to get more people riding more often.