PRESS RELEASE: BOB CONAWAY CONDEMNS PAUL COOK's VOTE WHICH STEALS MONEY FROM UNION PENSION FUNDS TO PAY FOR MISMANAGED HIGHWAY TRUST FUND

The fiscal challenges facing the Highway Trust Fund, which receives federal gas tax revenue and then distributes it to states for infrastructure projects, is suffering from a success story: Americans are driving less, vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient and the gas tax hasn't been increased in 20 years.  The funding is shrinking in the same way dropping home values hurt local governments in California over the past two decades.
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If the trust fund experiences a cash shortfall (which it did), the DOT will be forced to start taking steps to manage whatever cash it has left, or as Paul Cook thought was a good idea, transfer from the general fund (called "pension smoothing"), a step that Bob Conaway denounces as a gimmick, smoke and mirrors and stripping pension funds from hardworking union workers.
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Bob Conaway agrees with Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt) who says “We shouldn’t be paying for filling potholes by creating potholes in Americans’ pensions. This is not a serious or sustainable response to the challenge of an underfunded highway program. Congress should bite the bullet and do its job.”
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Faced with the threat that federal money for 117,000 transportation projects would begin to dry up in two weeks, the House on Tuesday approved a nearly $11 billion patch to extend funding through May.
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Bob Conaway (D, CA-08) states:
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"Everything this Congressman agrees to is a patch, not a solution, and when he acts, it will be to hurt private citizens (union and non-union) for the benefit of corporations. Only when faced with potential layoffs of 700,000 construction workers (not a good campaign "accomplishment" for even the most cynical right-to-worker) did this Congress act. Congressmen will need to discuss with stakeholders at both the state and local level in town hall-style meetings the problems and solution and then debate the competing solutions in real (and not staged) sessions of Congress on how to deal with dropping gas tax revenues per mile traveled & how to best deal with the fatiguing and failing road and bridge infrastructure without raising custom fees or raiding pensions".

Message prepared by candidate
Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)

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