Infrastructure Key to Economy, Trucking Executive Tells Obama
Investing in highway infrastructure is the quickest, most efficient way to create jobs and restore the economy, former American Trucking Associations Chairman Charles “Shorty” Whittington told President Obama at the White House jobs summit held Thursday.
Whittington told the president the country “must make a long-term commitment to highway investment in order to give construction companies certainty that when they hire new employees or buy new equipment, the investment will pay off.”
“This can’t be achieved through a one-time shot in the arm. We need a multi-year investment,” he said in a statement.
Whittington, president of Indiana-based trucking company Grammer Industries, was ATA’s chairman from October 2008 to October 2009.
President Obama signaled at the summit, which included 130 business and labor leaders, that he will push for initiatives in federal infrastructure spending as a way to spur job growth, Bloomberg reported.
In an interview with USA Today, the president said Obama said it will not be possible to have a huge second stimulus bill, following the $787 billion stimulus package Congress approved in February.
