ARTBA & Other Groups Urge Senate Vote on Highway Bill
October 18, 2019
By John Schneidawind, vice president of public affairs, ARTBA
ARTBA and a cross section of nearly 40 national organizations representing business and organized labor are urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bring S. 2302, the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA), to a floor vote by the end of the year.
The Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee July 29 unanimously passed the ATIA, but “it is up to the rest of the Senate to take the next steps,” the groups wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to McConnell. (see below)
Those steps include consideration by the Senate’s Commerce, Banking and Finance committees. The Finance Committee is tasked with developing a way to pay spending called for by the legislation, which represents the first surface transportation program reauthorization bill in nearly 15 years that would significantly increase federal investment in highway safety and mobility improvements.
In urging McConnell to bring the bill to the Senate floor for consideration, the letter notes that “history has demonstrated that delaying action on such measures until their deadline leads to two outcomes: short-term extensions; and the disruption of state highway improvement plans.”
The letter praises McConnell for moving the last highway program reauthorization through the Senate after the EPW Committee passed it in June 2015, which “with your personal support, spurred action from other Senate Committees and the House of Representatives. This culminated in the enactment of the “Fixing America’s Transportation (FAST) Act six months later.”
The House of Representatives has yet to take any action to introduce similar highway program reauthorization legislation.
Summer Transportation Construction Work Hits Record $45.6 Billion
October 17, 2019
By Mark Holan, editorial director, ARTBA
Transportation contractors were busy this summer, with the value of work up across all modes in June, July, and August compared to the same three-month period in 2018.
Contractors performed a record $45.6 billion in transportation and transportation-related construction work, up 12 percent compared to the $40.8 billion put in place June through August 2018, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Highway and street pavement work has shown continued strength, with $21.7 billion in work between June and August 2019, compared to $19.6 billion in market activity through the same time period in 2018,” said ARTBA Chief Economist, Dr. Alison Black. “Work is also up for bridge, airport, transit, rail and port/waterway construction.”
ARTBA contractor members can have their say about what was going on by taking a few minutes to answer our third quarter industry conditions survey. The deadline is Oct. 28.
State and local government highway and bridge contract awards continue to show strength in some of the nation’s largest markets, Black said, including California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas, and Virginia. Year to date, market activity is up 10 percent across all transportation modes.
Dr. Black will take a deeper dive into market conditions and federal, state, and local funding trends at ARTBA’s four upcoming regional meetings. Learn more and register here.
ATIA Group Letter to Senate Leader McConnell
October 17, 2019
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Leader McConnell:
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s America’s Transportation
Infrastructure Act (ATIA), S. 2302, provides a rare opportunity to benefit all states and continue the nation’s longest economic expansion in history. While the EPW Committee has unanimously approved a critical federal infrastructure initiative, it is up to the rest of the Senate to take the next steps.
We applaud EPW Committee Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member Carper and all committee
members for proactively moving forward with a reauthorization of the federal highway program more than a year before it expires. History has demonstrated that delaying action on such measures until their deadline leads to two outcomes: short-term extensions; and disruption of state highway improvement plans.
The ATIA is not only timely, but it would also deliver meaningful enhancement to the nation’s
highway and bridge infrastructure network. It would provide historic investment levels, deliver
beneficial projects faster by cutting red tape, tap private sector capital and innovations, prioritize safety, and improve the quality of life for rural and urban communities. The ATIA is an important foundation to begin addressing the critical need to modernize America’s infrastructure.
The ATIA earned unanimous endorsement of EPW Committee members and supportive comments from President Trump. This unique show of broad, bipartisan cooperation speaks not only to the merits of the legislation, but also to its prospects for passage. The EPW Committee approved a highway program reauthorization in June 2015 that, with your personal support, spurred action from other Senate committees and the House of Representatives. This culminated in the enactment of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act six months later.
We urge you to ensure the progress made on the ATIA continues by committing to schedule a
reauthorization of the federal surface transportation programs for floor consideration this year.
Such a pledge would be an unequivocal signal to the other relevant Senate committees to begin developing their respective components of the final bill.
Sincerely,
American Road & Transportation Builders Association
Associated General Contractors of America
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
American Society of Civil Engineers
Associated Equipment Manufacturers
The National Industrial Transportation League
American Public Works Association
Transportation Intermediaries Association
National Association of Chemical Distributors
North America’s Building Trades Unions
International Union of Operating Engineers
Laborers International Union of North America
American Public Transportation Association
Equipment Dealers Association
Associated Equipment Distributors
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc.
American Highway Users Alliance
National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
American Council of Engineering Companies
American Concrete Pipe Association
Coalition for America’s Gateway & Trade Corridors
Energy Equipment & Infrastructure Alliance
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
National Steel Bridge Alliance
Portland Cement Association
Industrial Minerals Association – North America
American Concrete Pavement Association
Construction & Demolition Recycling Association
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
International Warehouse Logistics Association
National Parking Association
Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association (FEDA)
National Association of Trailer Manufacturers
Food Marketing Institute
CCIM Institute
Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association
Associated Wire Rope Fabricators
Building Owners and Managers Association
Cc: All U.S. Senators
