The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in support of the newly introduced, bipartisan Senate surface transportation legislation, the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act:

As Congress and the Administration work toward their mutual goal of passing comprehensive tax reform and a new infrastructure initiative, AGC continues to make the case to leaders on Capitol Hill that rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and reforming our outdated tax code should go hand-in-hand.  Many Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that combining tax and infrastructure reform into one package makes perfect sense.  In fact, members of both parties in the House of Representatives sent President Trump a letter earlier this year expressing their support in pursuing an infrastructure and tax reform package, saying “comprehensive tax reform could free up significant capital for infrastructure as well as other investments enabling businesses large and small to invent, innovate and hire.
AGC continues to advocate for reforms to the tax code that would benefit the construction industry, and recently sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee outlining those priorities.  But, including infrastructure in tax reform would have a positive impact on economic growth in the short and long term.  In the short term, a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office noted, every dollar invested in infrastructure, on average, generates as much as $2.50 in incremental output over the following six quarters.  This is the highest multiplier among all major Federal spending programs or from tax cuts to individuals and businesses.  In the long-term, infrastructure investments can boost our economy by creating significantly more new and high-paying jobs in construction and related fields.  These investments will also make businesses more competitive by reducing shipping, commuting, water and energy costs.
At AGC’s upcoming National Chapter Leader Conference (NCLC) – September 24-26 – participants will be going to Capitol Hill to make the case that infrastructure investment should be a part of tax reform.  Among AGC’s infrastructure priorities are to find a permanent fix for the Highway Trust Fund, maintain the tax exempt status of municipal bonds, ensure and expand the use of Private Activity Bonds, establish a Clean Water Trust Fund, increase funding for airport infrastructure, and make better use of federal buildings and property.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

On two separate occasions this week, President Trump indicated that he intends to accelerate the time frame in which he will propose his $1 trillion dollar infrastructure plan.  Additionally, Transportation Secretary Chao briefed a small group of Republican House Members on an infrastructure package that may be moving as soon as the middle of May.  Neither the President nor Secretary Chao provided any level of detail other than that the plan will rely on both private and public funds and will cut red tape that contributes to a delay in infrastructure projects.
However, the timing for any infrastructure plan remains in flux.  It appears that the Administration is moving forward sooner than previously thought and the House and Senate Committees have held several infrastructure-related hearings.  AGC will continue to work with both the Administration and Congress to ensure that the promise of a $1 trillion infrastructure package that provides direct federal spending, increased private sector investment and cuts red tape is kept.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

Tell your Senators and Representative to Maintain Funding for these Programs
President Trump recently released a budget outline to identify administration priorities for Fiscal Year 2018. This budget outline is a mixed bag for federal infrastructure accounts as it proposes to cut billions in federal spending from construction-related programs. Proposed cuts include: a $2.4 billion reduction for the Department of Transportation by eliminating the TIGER grant program and limiting funding for the transit new starts grant program, eliminating the Agriculture Department’s Water and Wastewater grant program funding of $498 million and eliminating the Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant funding of $3 billion. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to maintain funding for these critical infrastructure investment programs.
While we look forward to working with the administration on the president’s promised infrastructure investment initiative, in the meantime, AGC supports maintaining funding for existing infrastructure programs. Contact your senators and representatives to urge them to ignore Trump’s proposed cuts to infrastructure programs.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

Tell your Senators and Representative to Maintain Funding for these Programs
Last week, President Trump released a budget outline to identify administration priorities for Fiscal Year 2018. This budget outline is a mixed bag for federal infrastructure accounts as it proposes to cut billions in federal spending from construction-related programs. Proposed cuts include: a $2.4 billion reduction for the Department of Transportation by eliminating the TIGER grant program and limiting funding for the transit new starts grant program, eliminating the Agriculture Department’s Water and Wastewater grant program funding of $498 million and eliminating the Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant funding of $3 billion. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to maintain funding for these critical infrastructure investment programs.
While we look forward to working with the administration on the president’s promised infrastructure investment initiative, in the meantime, AGC supports maintaining funding for existing infrastructure programs. Contact your senators and representatives to urge them to ignore the cuts to infrastructure programs that were proposed in President Trump’s FY 2018 budget outline.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

This week, AGC submitted comments to the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment for their hearing on “Modernizing Environmental Laws: Challenges and Opportunities for Expanding Infrastructure and Promoting Development and Manufacturing.” Representative David McKinley (R-W.V.) submitted AGC’s comments for the record during the hearing.
AGC’s comments focused on the need for fewer and smarter regulations, greater industry assistance and involvement, and reduced barriers to approving and moving forward on important infrastructure projects.  We have previously reached out to the Trump Administration and Congress with comprehensive recommendations on improving the regulatory landscape for the construction and industry and will continue to push for an infrastructure plan that not only provides increased funding but also removes the roadblocks to investment in infrastructure, development and manufacturing.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

Governors Sends List of Projects to White House
Although there is still no word out of the White House on their infrastructure investment plan, infrastructure continued to make news in the nation’s capital this week. The Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee held their first hearing, the National Governors Association (NGA) is sending a list of 428 infrastructure projects to the White House, and Ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee Peter Defazio is sending a letter to President Trump recommending three immediate actions that could be taken to provide funding for surface transportation, waterways, and airport construction projects. AGC will continue working with Congress and the administration to shape a plan that meets the investment needs for our nation’s infrastructure.
The Senate committee hearing on “Modernizing our Nation’s Infrastructure” focused on the infrastructure needs of the country, particularly rural communities.  Senators heard from witnesses representing public works agencies, including the heads of the Wyoming and Colorado Departments of Transportation.  Similar to last week’s hearing in the House, there was consensus among witnesses and Senators that any new infrastructure plan must not only rely on private investment but must also include direct federal spending to meet the nation’s infrastructure needs in both urban and rural communities.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

AGC Sends Letter to President Trump
This week, AGC of America and AGC chapters joined nearly 400 other associations, labor unions and transportation groups in sending a letter to President Trump expressing support for a major infrastructure plan that, among other things, addresses the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. The letter was referenced by House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster in his opening remarks during his committee’s hearing on 21st Century Infrastructure.
Much like AGC’s Agenda to Rebuild American Infrastructure, the hearing focused on addressing the needs of our nation’s roads, bridges, waterways and airports. The witnesses – who included Fred Smith, President and CEO, FedEx and Rich Trumka, President, AFL-CIO – were unanimous in the need for greater investments in infrastructure including an increase in the federal gas taxes, while also acknowledging there needs to continue be a role for private investment.  Ranking Democrat on the committee, Peter DeFazio outlined his plan to pay for certain infrastructure projects, which includes indexing the gas and diesel taxes to inflation to repay 30 year treasury bonds, raising the cap on Passenger Facility Charges (PFC) for airports, and directing billions of dollars back into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund that have been diverted to pay for deficit reduction.
With infrastructure a top priority of President Trump and a part of the House Republican’s 200 Day Agenda, AGC will continue to push for additional funding and financing for all types of infrastructure and pro-construction regulatory policies.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

Senate Dems Release Infrastructure Blueprint; House GOP adds Infrastructure to the First 200 Days Agenda; Pres. Trump Highlights Infrastructure in Inaugural Address, Looks to Restart Pipeline Projects
Infrastructure investment ideas continued to make news this week in Washington with the House, Senate and President Trump each highlighting infrastructure investment as a priority. AGC has provided recommendations to both the administration and Congress for rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. AGC will work with President Trump and Congress to ensure that any infrastructure plan includes real, dedicated funding for all types of infrastructure, while also encouraging greater private sector investments where appropriate.
Following President Trump’s inaugural that talked about infrastructure, President Trump signed several infrastructure-related Executive Orders (EO), including one to restart the permit application for the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines and a second to expedite environmental reviews and permitting for high priority infrastructure projects.  The White House has not released details on the contents of their infrastructure plan or when it will be released.  Several news reports this week cite a list of projects that could be built under a Trump plan but it does not appear that this list has been compiled by anyone in the Trump transition or administration.  What is known is that the National Governors Association has shared a list of potential projects that have been identified by individual states with the Trump Administration.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats released their infrastructure blueprint, which would invest $1 trillion over 10 years in all types of infrastructure. The plan calls for direct government spending on projects but does not offer up a way to pay for it – except for “closing tax loopholes used by corporations and super-wealthy individuals.”  The plan will likely be used by Senate Democrats as a starting point in negotiations with the Trump administration. Over in the House, Speaker Paul Ryan is laying out Republican’s plan at a gathering in Philadelphia, which according to reports includes healthcare, tax reform and an infrastructure package.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

AGC, as part of a broad coalition that represents a vast cross section of the economy, is working to deliver a joint letter to President Trump following his inauguration. The letter urges the president to strengthen our nation’s economy through significant investment in infrastructure in order to end the cycle of uncertainty that has plagued America’s infrastructure network for many years.
AGC thanks all the chapters who have signed onto the letter, if your chapter has not signed on to the letter and would like to do so, please click here.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.