I wanted to give all of you a heads up that the White House intends to release the President’s new infrastructure proposal Monday, February 12th. This proposal is expected to include $200 billion in additional federal funding for infrastructure during the next ten years, reform the environmental process to significantly accelerate federal reviews and urge Congress to address chronic funding shortfalls for infrastructure, including with the federal Highway Trust Fund and airports.
While the administration’s proposal will likely have plenty of room for improvement, the fact is the President has signaled that he intends to make a determined push to secure new funding for vital public works. Getting Congress to act on the measure will not be easy and it will require a strong coalition of Republicans and Democrats to build enough votes to overcome opposition from anti-infrastructure conservatives and anti-Trump liberals.
Securing new infrastructure funding will certainly help member firms that build and maintain public works. But it will also help members who build other projects by making our economy more efficient and vibrant, driving demand for all types of construction services.
That is why we will be issuing the attached statement to the media early tomorrow morning. And that is why I encourage all of you to consider sending something similar to your local media as well. The more chapters that signal to their Congressional delegation that this is a top priority for their members, the easier our job will be to secure votes in favor of an infrastructure measure.
Releasing media statements is just one tactic that we, and hopefully you, plan to employ to push for new infrastructure funding. We have already launched a vigorous social media campaign called “Americans for Better Infrastructure,” which you can follow at facebook.com/BetterInfrastructure, and are holding media events in key markets calling for new infrastructure funding. We will continue, and indeed accelerate, these efforts.
We will also be working with the various coalitions we help run to ramp up traditional advertising and media outreach. And we will be asking members to reach out to their Congressional delegation to urge support for new infrastructure funding. And of course, our team of lobbyists will keep knocking on doors throughout Capitol Hill.
We will continue to keep all of you informed of our efforts and offer suggestions for how you can help. In the meantime, please feel free to coordinate with Brian Turmail on developing and distributing your own media statements. He can be reached at 703-459-0238 or turmailb@agc.org. Even if you do not require his assistance, please share anything you send with him so we can keep our allies informed of the steps we are taking.
Sincerely,
Stephen E. Sandherr
CEO