Link-Belt in Start Us Up campaign in Washington D.C.

Link-Belt supported the "Start Us Up USA" rally and caravan of idle equipment on October 28 in Washington D.C. The caravan circled Capitol Hill and included a HTC-8660 telescopic truck crane transported by Keen Transport from New Kingstown, PA, USA.

The rally and caravan was organized to pressure the US Congress to reauthorize and fully fund federal road, bridge, transit, and rail programs to spur jobs recovery in the construction sector. The "Start Us Up USA" initiative is a collaboration of the Association of Equipment Manufactures (AEM) and the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED).

On October 31, 2009, government highway funding programs, called SAFETEA-LU, expired. According to AED and AEM, many in Washington want to pass only an 18-month extension and put off the real work of creating a new bill. The organizations contend that an 18-month extension makes it impossible for highway officials to plan ahead, and if they can't plan, they can't hire equipment companies to supply the equipment and do the work.

Chuck Martz, Link-Belt Chairman, CEO and President said: "This funding is critical, long-term, not just to our industry, but to our country. It directly affects our international competitiveness. Similarly, delaying this funding not only affects the industry, but also the overall employment rate and our prospects for economic recovery."

See http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LinkBelt/df8d1d0b51/8c18c5b9c2/83dfeafd48 for more information regarding the rally.