Kris Johnson, president of the Association of Washington Business, appealed to lawmakers in the state Senate to lend their support to a transportation funding proposal announced today in Olympia.
“It is past time to make critical investments in our state’s roads, bridges and highways. Transportation infrastructure is critical not only to our quality of life, but also to our state’s business climate and economic future. Employees need to get to work safely and in a reasonable amount of time, manufacturers need to get materials to and from ports, and farmers must be able to get their goods to market.
“Today, a bipartisan group of Senate transportation leaders took an important step by releasing a statewide revenue package proposal. We encourage the full Senate to support the proposal and pass a package — with needed reforms — over to the House soon. With tremendous infrastructure needs, we are optimistic the Legislature will find a compromise and approve a package this session. Postponing the investment will hurt Washington’s competitiveness and drive up project costs later. We need to invest in transportation now.”
About the Association of Washington Business
Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 8,300 members representing 700,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.