WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Gateway coalition today thanked the elected officials who have supported the job producing project, on the same day that the public-private partnership was awarded $98 million in funding from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "The elected officials who support the National Gateway understand the importance of addressing the transportation infrastructure needs of our country," said Louis Renjel, vice president of strategic infrastructure initiatives, CSX Transportation. "Under their leadership, the National Gateway is putting people to work, reducing congestion on our nation's highways and improving the environment. CSX and the other members of the coalition are grateful for their support and look forward to continuing to work with them to make the National Gateway a reality." An $842 million, multi-state public-private infrastructure initiative, the National Gateway will enhance freight capacity by creating a highly efficient double-stack rail corridor between East Coast sea ports and consumption centers and Midwest distribution centers. The project will create more than 50,000 jobs, reduce transit times between coastal ports and major population centers by 24 to 48 hours, and reduce highway congestion and transportation emissions. The National Gateway coalition has unprecedented support from a large coalition of public and private sector leaders including governors and regional officials across six states, more than three dozen members of Congress, three port authorities, and dozens of global shippers, ocean carriers, business organizations and environmental groups. The coalition would like to thank the following elected officials for their support: Governors -- Ohio Governor Ted Strickland -- Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell -- Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley -- Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell -- West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin -- North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue U.S. Senators -- U.S. Senator George Voinovich (Ohio) -- U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio) -- U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey (Pennsylvania) -- U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (Maryland) -- U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (Maryland) -- U.S. Senator Jim Webb (Virginia) -- U.S. Senator Mark Warner (Virginia) Members of Congress -- Congresswoman Betty Sutton (OH-13) -- Congressman Charlie Wilson (OH-6) -- Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (OH-2) -- Congressman John Boccieri (OH-16) -- Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) -- Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) -- Congressman Michael Turner (OH-3) -- Congressman Steven LaTourette (OH-14) -- Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17) -- Congressman Mike Doyle (PA-14) -- Congressman Bill Shuster (PA-9) -- Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-4) -- Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) -- Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) -- Congresswoman Donna Edwards (MD-4) -- Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2) -- Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-7) -- Congressman Frank Kratovil, Jr. (MD-1) -- Congressman John Sarbanes (MD-3) -- Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-5) -- Congressman Gerry Connolly (VA-11) -- Congressman Glenn Nye (VA-2) -- Congressman James Moran (VA-8) -- Congressman Randy Forbes (VA-4) -- Congressman Robert Wittman (VA-1) -- Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2) -- Congressman G.K. Butterfield (NC-1) -- Congressman Howard Coble (NC-6) -- Congressman Mel Watt (NC-12) -- Congressman Mike McIntyre (NC-7) -- Congresswoman Sue Myrick (NC-9) -- Congresswoman Corrine Brown (FL-3) State Elected Officials -- Armond Budish, Speaker, Ohio House of Representatives -- Robert F. Hagan, Chairman, Ohio House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee -- Randy Gardner, Ohio House of Representatives -- Bill Harris, President, Ohio Senate -- Mark Wagoner, Ohio Senate, 2nd District -- Tom Patton, Ohio State Senate -- Joseph F. Markosek, Pennsylvania House of Representatives -- Richard A. Geist, Pennsylvania House of Representatives -- J. Barry Stout, Pennsylvania Senate -- Michael E. Busch, Speaker of the Maryland House -- Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., President of the Maryland Senate -- Senator Ulysses Currie, Chairman of Maryland Senate Budget Committee -- John C. Astle, Maryland Senate -- Ward L. Armstrong, Virginia House of Delegates, Minority Leader -- David Englin, Virginia House of Delegates -- G. Manoli Loupassi, Virginia House of Delegates -- Glen Oder, Virginia House of Delegates -- Joe May, Virginia House of Delegates -- Mark Sickles, Virginia House of Delegates -- Robert H. Brink, Virginia House of Delegates -- S. Chris Jones, Virginia House of Delegates -- Frank Wagner, Virginia State Senate -- J. Chapman Peterson, Virginia State Senate -- Toddy Puller, Virginia State Senate -- Walter A. Stosch, Virginia State Senate -- Wm. Roscoe Reynolds, Virginia State Senate -- Kevin J. Craig, Member West Virginia House of Delegates -- Representative James W. Crawford, North Carolina General Assembly Members of the National Gateway coalition include: Businesses and Organizations -- Allegheny Conference on Community Development -- APL -- APM Terminals -- Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce -- Big Lots! -- Butler County Port Authority -- Celtic International -- Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce -- Chesapeake Bay Foundation -- China Shipping -- CMA CGM -- Comprehensive Development Solutions -- Conservation Fund -- ContainerPort Group, Inc. -- CSX -- Evergreen -- Franklin Storage, LP -- Greater Baltimore Committee -- Greater Findlay, Inc. -- Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce -- Hamburg Sud -- Hampton Roads Partnership -- Hapag Lloyd -- Hyundai Intermodal Inc. -- Jones Fall Watershed -- Limitedbrands -- Maryland Chamber -- Mercersburg Area Chamber of Commerce -- Mi-Jack Products -- Mosser Construction -- MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company -- Mulch Manufacturing -- National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board -- Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance -- ODW Logistics -- Ohio Chamber of Commerce -- Ohio Environmental Council -- Ohio Kentucky Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments -- Ohio Logistics -- Ohio Soybean Council -- OOCL -- Pacer Rail -- Pacer Stacktrain -- Pacific Rail Services -- Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry -- Pittsburgh Regional Alliance -- Regional Growth Partnership -- ROAR Logistics -- Schneider National -- Shippensburg Area Chamber of Commerce -- Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments -- Trailer Transport Systems -- UPS -- Valley Quarries -- Virginia Chamber of Commerce -- Wood County Economic Development Commission -- Yang Ming For more information about the National Gateway, visit http://www.nationalgateway.org/. DATASOURCE: National Gateway CONTACT: Richard VanOrnum of the National Gateway, +1-617-752-1177 Web Site: http://www.nationalgateway.org/

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