Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/114548
President's Message If you see or speak with them in the meantime, send a strong message of the importance of highways to the national economy and future growth, not to mention your ability to employ workers who vote in his or her district. And please plan to attend the AED Spring Government Affairs Fly-in in Rep. Bill Shuster along with a commitment to a strong federal role, which he noted was enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, alongside national defense, as a core federal responsibility. And he clearly indicated that all funding options, including an increase in the gas tax (which we believe will be key to a solution), will be on the table. This is a marked change in stance from Shuster's predecessor as T&I Chairman, Rep. John Mica, who was unalterably opposed to any increase in the gas tax. In fact, very recently Chairman Shuster held the first Committee hearing on the highway program, with one of the witnesses being U.S. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue, a man not known to mince words. Tom called for increasing the gas tax as part of the solution, whereupon Mica bolted from the hearing room and released a statement declaring that Donohue has lost touch with the business community he represents, and should look for another line of work. Tom, true to character, calmly and publicly responded: "I thought that's what Mr. Mica was doing." So just when you thought you could stop worrying about the highway program for a while, the new battle is joined. AED remains on the front line – that's what we do. You'll be hearing from us often on the subject, and we'll be calling on you for support in contacting your lawmakers at important points in the process. Washington D.C., May 22-23, the details of which are currently being developed and posted at www.aednet.org/fly-in. n Toby mack is president and CEO of Associated Equipment Distributors. He can be reached at jtm@aednet.org. Multi-ply Your Money! with the award winning excavator and backhoe rock and frost ripping Multi-Ripper ® or the Multi-Ripper MultiRipper Bucket ® Rips the sides and bottom of the trench flat, with no depth limitation 4 times faster than a hammer 6 to 9 times the force of a standard bucket (Twisted) Also, try our award winning Multi-Ripper Teeth Multi-Ripper Bucket TM Maximize force one tooth at a time, with our patented "Shanks on an Arc" technology. Celebrating Our 11th Year Designing Innovative Products Made In the USA! available for mini-excavators, backhoes, and excavators from 6K to 300K pounds eading "Leader in Excavator Rock Ripping Attachments" dge ttachments, www.digrock.com "theOperators Claim: best attachment sales@leattach.com ® Inc. 866-928-5800 or 508-829-4855 I ever bought!" March 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 21 20_Toby_Mack_feature_KP.indd 21 2/27/13 2:17 PM