As summer activity winds down in Washington in early August and federal legislators return to their states and districts to visit with their constituents, and in some cases campaign for the upcoming midterm elections, we have a chance to reflect on this session of Congress to date, and to look ahead through the rest of the year.
In April, we joined our fellow cement and concrete industry groups for the Washington Fly-In, in person for the first time in a couple of years. In dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill, ACPA’s seven participants made the case for the Concrete Pump Tax Fairness Act; against favorable treatment for mass timber construction; for federal workforce support for technical training; and against short-term reductions in the federal gas tax.
For years, “This is infrastructure week!” was the cry from Washington, involving a constant outreach to federal policymakers and legislators stressing the importance of maintaining our nation’s existing infrastructure while building the twenty-first century infrastructure needed to compete globally. After too many meetings, hearings, bill drafts, mark-ups and floor debates over the years, we finally did it. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was signed into law last November.
Infrastructure Week has finally arrived! After years of lobbying in support of federal investments, leadership in Washington finally heard the construction industry and its many partners. The $1.2 trillion federal investment will be matched by significant state and local government investment, increasing the economic benefit over time. President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law on November 15, 2021.
As the magazine goes to press, Washington enters yet another “Infrastructure Week.” Yes, another, but this time is different. The Senate and the White House negotiated the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, the Senate voted repeatedly to consider the legislation to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, and we now await their action of the legislative language. The House of Representatives passed the INVEST Act last month. The House bill is similar in size and scope to the Senate Bipartisan approach, but takes a different approach on a number of programs.
Due to pandemic restrictions, this year’s Fly-In was virtual. We traded dashing around Capitol Hill for signing in and out of Zoom and Go-To meetings and calls.
January marked the beginning of the New Year, the 117th Congress, and the Biden-Harris Administration. While there have already been many changes with these new starts, the growing challenges of living with the coronavirus is not one of them, unfortunately. COVID-19 continues to drive government activity at all levels across the country. With 500,000 dead expected by the end of February, meeting public health needs is paramount. Vaccine distribution is the bright light at the very long tunnel. However, social distancing requirements necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 continue to negatively affect our economy and our citizens.
As we prepare to leave 2020, the view in the rearview mirror is cloudy. By all measures, this has been a tough year. The upheaval to our way of life caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic—particularly the heavy cost to hundreds of thousands American families who lost loved ones—will continue through 2021. The medical community’s predictions of increasing infections and deaths are coming true. Dr. Fauci now says we may reach 500,000 COVID-19 related deaths by March 2021. Mitigation measures needed to limit the virus’s spread will continue to disrupt the economy. While it is hard to foresee recovery when still facing such hard times, the remarkable success seen in developing and approving a number of vaccines is a true bright spot. While it will take months to vaccinate enough Americans to create effective herd immunity and allow our society to start the recovery process, we can see the end from here.
When thinking about what to write for this issue, I kept coming back to, “What’s coming next?” This has been a tough year, with waves of major disruptors. Business needs certainty to plan for a strong future, and the country needs stability to support its citizens in their communities. The American people need stability and certainty to create a fruitful future for their families. Yet this year lacks both certainty and stability.
While the country continues to be consumed by the historic crises facing our nation—the coronavirus pandemic public health threat, the economic downturn created by the pandemic’s mitigation measures and the nationwide protests calling for racial equality—Washington works on each of these issues. Congress is expected to pass more COVID legislation this month, and the administration continues to implement the trillions of dollars of programmatic funding Congress passed in March and April. Of great interest to the ACPA is recent activity in both the House and Senate on infrastructure programs. We’ll touch on the pandemic economic issues and the legislative movement on infrastructure.
