Editor’s Note: For nearly two years Site-K Construction Zone has been blogging about and posting information on our infrastructure needs, the highway bill and the need to put people back to work. Leading construction industry associations such as the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and a host of others, have posted and published hundreds of articles on our infrastructure needs and how a concentrated, serious, honest infrastructure program would start the repair and much-needed updating of our infrastructure while putting thousands of people back to work. Several things about infrastructure construction: it can’t be shipped offshore; it requires unbelievable amounts of domestically produced and generated materials and supplies; it results in the employment of thousands. ON Monday, October 11, 2010 the president once again advocated the implementation of a $50 billion infrastructure program. It’s a great idea. If we do that why don’t we pass the Highway Trust Fund Bill that’s been on hold for more than a year? Had that bill been passed in September 2009, as scheduled, our unemployment problems might not be as bad as they are and our economy could well be in a real recovery mode. Hats off to AEM for it’s following comments.
Statement by AEM President Dennis Slater
Association of Equipment Manufacturers President Dennis Slater issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s meeting about the infrastructure spending October 11 and a recent report by the Department of the Treasury with the Council of Economic Advisers:
“For the second time in as many months, President Obama has appeared before the press and the public to announce his commitment to a 6-year plan to rebuild and modernize America’s infrastructure for the 21st century – putting Americans back to work and investing in our future. America’s equipment manufacturers have urgently been making this case for nearly two years, so we are pleased to see the White House focus on this critical issue. Now we need action. President Obama and Congress should reconvene immediately after the November elections and pass a surface transportation bill that will put thousands of Americans back to work repairing and rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Continuing to put off this fundamental responsibility of the federal government keeps unemployment rates high and makes a bad problem worse. Enacting a long-term surface transportation plan will benefit all Americans, revitalize our economy and strengthen our global competitiveness.”
AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace. AEM membership comprises more than 800 companies and 200-plus product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide. AEM is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with offices in the capitals of Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Beijing and a European presence in Brussels.