Transportation Leaders Praise Sen. Lautenberg’s Legacy
Tributes poured in for New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D), who until his death Monday at the age of 89 was a key policymaker in every aspect of transportation, from passenger and freight rail to highway safety and drunk-driving laws.
“Frank’s tireless advocacy for transportation safety saved many lives — he truly was the Safety Senator,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said in a statement.
“His commitment to public transit also helped provide millions of working Americans with affordable transportation options in their communities, evident in . . . many of the ways that people move around America today,” LaHood said.
“Sen. Lautenberg was a passionate and tireless advocate for transportation, and in particular of making our roads, bridges, railways and skies safer to travel,” said American Trucking Association President Bill Graves. “He served his state and his nation with distinction, and he will be missed.”
When it came to transportation safety and security, there was no greater champion than Lautenberg, said Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. “He understood that our government has a sacred obligation to ensure that workers come home safely every day, and he served to fulfill this responsibility.”
Edward Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, said Lautenberg “understood our nation’s interdependent intermodal supply chain and how important it is to America’s economy.”
Throughout his career, Lautenberg “helped to pass landmark transportation legislation . . . to improve the health and safety of the traveling public, and his tireless work on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation and [the] Environment and Public Works committees will be missed,” said Bud Wright, executive director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
The committees have jurisdiction over transportation reauthorization bills, such as MAP-21, the reauthorization bill signed by President Obama last summer.
The bill contains provisions championed by Lautenberg: a comprehensive truck size and weight study under way by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a drug and alcohol clearinghouse so carriers can check the records of drivers and a mandate for all trucks and buses to have electronic logging devices.
