Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

Businesses, families and individuals throughout Southwest Washington depend on a safe, efficient transportation system to keep our economy moving. As a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure I am committed to working on sensible solutions to our region's transportation needs.

Federal transportation funds are being affected by the same difficult economic realities that are affecting other government programs, just like they've affected businesses and families from Olympia to Vancouver. We are learning how to do more with less. With a $14 trillion national debt and double-digit unemployment in our region, that approach to our government spending is long overdue.

Our need to use transportation dollars more efficiently doesn't compromise our need to move people and goods as quickly, safely, and cost-effectively as possible. I join the rest of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as we purse ways to do things faster, better, and less expensively. And I will be an advocate for a safe, affordable bridge across the Columbia River that meets present and future capacity and freight mobility needs. How we fund this bridge will have as significant of an impact on our economy as the new bridge itself. We must get this right. If we do, future generations will enjoy the benefits of our hard work through safety, decreased traffic congestion and an improved economy.

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