Press Releases

“It is a goal of my office to implement a forward thinking plan for long term economic growth.  We need to invest in the skills and knowledge of people, and support innovation, and infrastructure to maintain U.S. economic leadership in the world.”

“Transportation investments create jobs.  Estimates state that every $1 billion in transportation infrastructure investment creates over 30,000 jobs,” Larsen said.  “This proposed bill potentially takes 500,000 jobs off the table, including almost 12,000 in Washington state, because it is so inadequate for the existing transportation needs of the country.”

Regarding the bill’s reversal of the long-standing consensus of federal investment in infrastructure, Larsen said, “It is a bit of back to the future.  In the early days of the Republic, the party that became the Democrats argued that the federal government had no role in transportation infrastructure and the party that became the Republicans knew transportation investment creates jobs.  Those roles are now reversed: Republicans think it is 1800 and are funding transportation like it is 1800.  Democrats know that Americans need jobs especially the kind of jobs that come with transportation investments.”

Larsen committed to working with Democrats and Republicans to find a compromise that moves the bill forward.  But he held back his support for the bill because of the low funding levels and its lack of support for several key initiatives that would benefit the Pacific Northwest.

“We need a national freight policy that recognizes the role important economic corridors play, like those in the Northwest,” Larsen said. “I will continue to press for a national freight policy and for a robust investment in the maritime infrastructure like the ferry systems that carry millions of people and vehicles to and from work every year in this country.”

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