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Champions of Change Roundtable Discusses Transportation Issues

The White House kicked off National Transportation Week on Monday, May 16, with a 'Champions of Change' roundtable discussion about transportation issues. Champions of Change is a weekly White House event addressing the national issues by inviting ordinary Americans to contribute their ideas.

The roundtable, which focused on how best to promote careers in transportation, invited 20 transportation professionals to share their thoughts. Participants discussed how to educate and prepare the next generation of transportation workers who will face a changing transit world. The event pitched trucking as a good career choice for young people.

The issue of promoting employment is particularly salient as roughly 50 percent of the current transportation work force will reach retirement age by 2013 - scarcely 18 months from now. A major hurtle to overcome in finding employees in both quantity and quality is the perception of truck driving. The roundtable, it seemed, tried to address that issue.

"There's no better way to earn a living than behind the wheel as a professional driver," said Ralph Garcia, a professional truck driver with ABF Freight System Inc. and a member of America's Road Team. "In my 30 years as a driver, I've seen so much of this great country that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience."

Garcia went on to say that the federal government could do more to encourage Americans to explore careers in the trucking industry, or simply remain in the trucking industry. Proposed hours of service rules, he suggested, are something that needs more thought for this reason - it "hurts drivers like me" he said.

In addition to trucking, there were representatives on the panel from railways, airlines, state governments, infrastructure builders and others who embody the concepts of "Innovate, Educate and Build" across the nation's transportation system.

Last Friday, May 13, President Obama declared May 15-20 National Transportation Week, and Friday, May 20 to be National Defense Transportation Day. In the proclamation, Obama recognized the poor state of America's transportation infrastructure and called on the nation to help rebuild it.

"We need to develop a 21st century transportation network," Obama said. "One that is safer, more energy efficient, more environmentally sustainable, and offers more transportation choices to our citizens than the one we inherited."

But despite the call to action, the outlook for America's transportation infrastructure continues to be rather grim, even ignoring employment. There is very little chance Congress will approve an increase in sorely needed transportation funding this year. Even the reauthorization bill currently underway may include funding cuts of around 30 percent. Read more at www.truckinginfo.com .

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