Union promises to spend recess campaigning for robust highway bill

By Keith Laing - 08/04/11 12:18 PM ET

The focus during the congressional recess so far has been on a spending bill lawmakers did not pass before they left, but a key labor union said Thursday it was going to spend the next month trying to convince them to pass one when they come back.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America said Thursday it was going to use the summer break to tell Congress "it’s time to pass a new Highway Bill that puts people to work and to discard a House GOP plan that would destroy 630,000 good jobs.

“In the debt ceiling debate and in the Federal Aviation Administration shutdown, some Republicans have shown they’re willing to put politics ahead of our economy and the livelihoods of working men and women,” LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan said in a statement. “We will not let the Highway Bill be the next victim of that strategy. We need to show that America faces its challenges and doesn’t run away from them.

"With the debt ceiling debate over for now, it’s time to focus on jobs, and LIUNA members are going to pressure Congress to do that,” O’Sullivan continued. “The choice facing our leaders is simple: Do we want to create jobs or destroy them?”

Some observers have suggested the federal highway bill, which authorizes the government to collect taxes on gasoline purchases, could be the next shutdown between Republicans and Democrats in Washington after the FAA was partial shutdown on what appeared to be a routine extension. The current highway bill expires Sept. 30.

The chambers are very far apart on their proposals for a new Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, transportation bill.

The Senate has proposed a two-year, $109 billion bill, while the House has offered a six-year, $230 billion bill.

Transportation advocates generally favor the length of the House bill, but the per-year amount of the Senate's.

Both proposals are far less than the $556 billion President Obama proposed spending on transportation over six years earlier this year.

But O'Sullivan said Thursday that Senate's short-term bill was far better than the House's longer proposal.

“The Senate’s plan puts us on the right path, but the House GOP bill waves a white flag of surrender,” he said. We can’t let this opportunity pass us by. We can create jobs, invest in our needs, get our economy moving and ensure America’s global competitiveness while leaving behind real assets for taxpayers and future generations.”