Pit & Quarry, January 2014

Johnson No doubt about it the current political climate is challenging For years now the Congress has been lurching from man made crisis to man made crisis the debt ceiling followed by the fiscal cliff to the recent shutdown and the debt ceiling all over again without a whole lot of headway on substantive issues in between Nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that in 2012 in the midst of a presidential election Congress passed a two year surface transportation reauthorization with bipartisan support that at least maintained level funding for the nations surface transportation system It is fair however and probably smart to realize that that was then and this is now and now is one of the strangest environments I have experienced in more than 20 years of working with Congress That is not to say by any means that we cannot succeed in winning passage of a long term highway bill and a sustainable funding solution for the Highway Trust Fund It does require that we think and act differently though As Einstein said The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results The recent passage of the Water Resources Development Act by the Senate and the Water Resources Reform and Development Act in the House with broad bipartisan support was instructive The way in which the bill moved through the committee process and the floor of each chamber the media strategies social and traditional and the strategic grassroots lobbying produced a remarkable 417 votes for the bill in the House only one week after the shutdown and debt ceiling fiasco In fact bipartisan support was so overwhelming that the final tally had only 17 of the 535 members of both chambers voting in opposition To see those types of results on the Highway Bill and Trust Fund we must stop talking about the problem and start getting more people talking about solutions Although NSSGA will be playing a leadership role among the construction materials organizations and working to build consensus in the Transportation Construction Coalition Americans for Transportation Mobility and other coalitions it is clear to us that the more important lobbying must come from outside the Washington beltway Members of Congress especially those who voted to shut down the government and keep it shut down need to hear loudly and clearly from the people who live work employ and most importantly vote in the communities they were elected to represent that just saying no is not an acceptable option when it comes to surface transportation infrastructure and its impact on local economies and the quality of life for families NSSGA is already working with our INTERVIEW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUESSING AND KNOWING Gain total visibility of your costs and maximize profi ts with LOADRITE productivity management tools Use LOADRITE scales on wheel loaders excavators and conveyor belts to achieve maximum operational effi ciency For proven cost savings and increased profi ts supported by our expert technical team across North America and the world choose LOADRITE For more information phone 1 800 528 5623 email info@ loadritescales com or visit www loadritescales com for your local distributor 1 800 528 5623 www loadritescales com See us at booth 50119 LR P Q 1113 26 PIT QUARRY January 2014 www pitandquarry com