Press Releases

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Press Conference

May 31, 2012

· I want to thank Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety for their tireless work to make our roads safer for everyone. I especially want to thank today's speakers who were personally affected by a roadway tragedy. It takes a lot of courage to share your stories.

· As many of you know, I'm a vocal opponent of proposals to increase truck size and weight on our nation's highways.

· We have all been driving on a rainy night when one of these giant rigs comes barreling up next to us. It's nerve-wracking, and it's dangerous.

· I would remind those who are advocating for bigger, heavier trucks behind closed doors that, during mark-up in the T & I Committee, Members voted 33 to 22 to strip the most egregious truck size and weight provisions from the bill.

· Instead, Democrats and Republicans supported a commonsense proposal to have the Department of Transportation conduct a 3 year study on the effects of bigger, heavier trucks on our roadways before making any radical changes. The Senate bill included a 2 year study.

· DOT's last truck size and weight study was completed 12 years ago. It would be foolish to move forward with any increases without knowing the full safety and infrastructure implications.

· Truck size and weight studies take time to thoroughly plan, conduct and analyze. I urge conferees to take up the House bill's 3 year study language and reject any attempts rush the study by reducing it to a year or less.

· I also urge conferees to retain the Senate's transportation safety title which includes a number of safety advances and new technologies.

· We need to move forward on a smart, safe highway bill that invests in our infrastructure and creates jobs.