House Democratic leaders Rosa DeLauro, Peter DeFazio and Louise Slaughter want Congress to prioritize Transportation Reauthorization Legislation over Trade Promotion Authority. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says while trade is important, getting commodities to market and having a good and reliable system to do that is even more important.
Steenhoek says federal lawmakers are running out of time to get that reauthorization done as the May deadline is fast approaching when they need to act.
Steenhoek says while no one likes to pay more taxes, transportation funding needs to be looked at as an investment and an economic driver.
The House Democrats also want President Obama to weigh in on the discussions and push more for infrastructure funding rather than concentrating so heavily on trade issues.
