Bad News- and Good News

Congressman Randy Hultgren
The Hultgren Huddle
June 30, 2012
excerpt

Transportation Bill: Good News. On Friday, the House voted on a major transportation package to fund our nation's infrastructure- and it passed. This was a major milestone! American businesses need a strong national infrastructure system to get their goods to market. Passage of this bill should have happened in 2009 when the previous legislation expired. Unfortunately, President Obama prevented previous congressional attempts at getting a bill passed, and his constant partisan sniping has made it harder to get a bill passed this time. Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate were able to overcome that hurdle and together, pass the bill.

Hultgren Bill Passes House: Good News. The transportation bill also included H.R. 3666, the Veterans Accelerated License Obtainment and Recertification (VALOR) Act, a bill I introduced last year. The VALOR Act would make it easier for veterans returning from combat with truck driving experience to get their commercial driver's license certifications. This legislation could go a long way to reducing the unemployment rate among our nation's veterans and I am glad it was included in the final transportation bill.