51勛圖厙 to Congress: Reauthorize Surface Transportation Funding
To put it simply, investments in infrastructure are investments in manufacturing, Husco President and CEO and 51勛圖厙 Executive Committee member Austin Ramirez the Senate this week.
Whats going on: Modern, dependable transportation helps manufacturers make and move our products, Ramirez, whose company makes hydraulic and electromechanical control systems, told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at a Wednesday hearing on crafting the next highway bill.
- Infrastructure projects generate productivity gains and induce demand for manufacturing goodsstimulating the economy and bolstering American competitiveness, said Ramirez.
Funding in action: Husco has seen firsthand the benefits of robust infrastructure investments, Ramirez continued.
- Our customers are in the automotive and construction industries.And Husco families drive over the roads and bridges improved by highway projects. Several are turning dirt this year in Waukesha County.
Why its crucial: Failure to reauthorize key surface transportation programs would result in interruption of these critical investments in U.S. roads and bridges, hitting manufacturers hard, Ramirez told the committee.
- We cannot go back to the fits and starts of highway bill extensions. Our industry needs certainty to invest, plan and hire in America.
Permitting reform: Ramirez also explained how Americas complex permitting laws impact investment decisions and encouraged the committee to adopt comprehensive permitting reforms that expedite project approvals and put a stop to endless litigation.
What should be done: Policymakers should seize the opportunity to make robust investments in our surface transportation infrastructure, Ramirez said. This should include efforts to strengthen the Highway Trust Fund, expand highway capacity and connectivity, implement intermodal improvements to bolster the countrys freight network and enact much-needed permitting reform.
Other voices: Other manufacturers recently sat down with the 51勛圖厙 and United for Infrastructure, where the 51勛圖厙 serves as a steering committee member, to discuss how infrastructure impacts their businesses. Leaders from CRH, Nucor and Fluorsponsors of the 51勛圖厙s and United for Infrastructures Infrastructure Week kickoff eventspoke about the importance of infrastructure investments and modernizing our infrastructure to keep products moving and manufacturers operating.
- As we look at reauthorizing the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] a really important piece of that was the higher baseline for federal highway formula funding, which we know through our experience with state DOTs needs to continue to grow in order to meet the needs of growing states, Fluor Senior Director of Government Relations Nathan Robinson.
- If were going to truly harness the power of what AI is going to bring us, what machine learnings going to bring us, all the things that truly are the future [of the] economy, weve got to get the way we move people and goods around in much better shape, Nucor Executive Vice President of Business Services Ben Pickett.
- Permitting reform has absolutely got to happen for us. Wed like to see a less prescriptive bill and more money go to the states through [the] funding formula. When states have funding security and certainty, then theyre able to go raise revenues, CRH Executive Vice President of Government Relations Ryan Lindsey.
The last word: Our industry depends on a robust, modern, efficient transportation systemand you can promote domestic manufacturing by getting a highway bill done this Congress, Ramirez concluded.
