And last year, for the first time in history, no scheduled U.S. air carrier suffered a fatal crash. Since transportation deaths occur mostly on our roads, we must continue to make them safer. This includes the Safer Skies initiative that the Vice President announced to reduce aviation fatalities by 80 percent within a decade. Today, roads and bridges are in better condition and are performing better in meeting our needs. Amtrak ridership is on the rebound, and transit ridership has seen double-digit growth since President Clinton took office.
Air travel is at record levels.
We are ensuring mobility as we meet the Year 2000 computer challenge. The President renewed his commitment last year when he signed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21 st Century. That is so important. We saw that last week, when President Clinton announced that we have the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years. This will ensure that we have balanced intercity transportation far into the coming century.