Connecticut Officials "Stand Up 4 Transportation," Call for Passage of Long-Term Transportation Bill

On Thursday, National Stand Up 4 Transportation Day, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was joined by Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Commissioner Jim Redeker of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, transportation advocates, and other elected officials in calling on Congress to pass a long-term transportation funding bill before the current funding bill expires at the end of May. Murphy highlighted the fact that a multi-year investment in our nation’s transportation infrastructure would create immeasurable opportunities for economic development and job creation throughout Connecticut.

“We are construction workers, labor, management, environmental groups, private sector, and public sector coming together to say that we can do something amazing if we invest in transportation," said Murphy. "We can save Connecticut’s economy, address our liabilities, and by the way, put a couple thousand people back on the job that desperately need work here in the state of Connecticut."

As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Murphy has led several efforts to pass a new transportation financing plan that increases the amount of federal support that Connecticut receives to improve our roadways, bridges, and rail lines. Last Congress, Murphy unveiled the first bipartisan proposal to shore up the Highway Trust Fund and improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure; his proposal would modernize decades-old transportation funding mechanisms and enact tax relief for American families and businesses.

"What we know is that we have needs all across the I-95 and Metro-North corridors that simply can’t be met when it comes to the money that we’ve allocated today," said Murphy. "We are seven members in the House and the Senate dedicated to the proposition that we cannot, any longer, afford to run a 2015 transportation system on 1993 dollars. If you want a 2015 transportation system, than you have to allocate 2015 tax dollars to solve the problem. We’re going to Stand Up 4 Transportation, we’re going to stand up for the tough solutions necessary to get the job done, and we are going to turn what today is a liability for Connecticut into a strength.”