2008 Chair’s Agenda

As the 2008 Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association, South Dakota Governor Michael Rounds focused on Transportation for Energy, People and Products.

Each region of our nation has talented people, an abundance of raw materials, the capacity to transform ideas and those materials into finished products and create cost-effective and reliable energy supplies. The most successful regions and states will combine and transform those assets to create a better future for their citizens. The most critical component and catalyst for creating that better future is transportation.

Stable energy prices and supplies, a better quality of life for our citizens and economic growth Midwestern states and region can all be realized by improving our transportation systems. Transportation is critical in the production and distribution of energy and a key factor in determining the price and supply stability for both fuels and electricity.

Governor Rounds believes that fixing and maintaining our current transportation systems are the most critical and immediate challenges to address because our people and our economies depend on them every day. To convey its regional transportation views to congress, MGA published its Surface Transportation Recommendations.