AGC Officer Testifies on Water Trust Fund

AGC Vice President Kris Young, President and CEO of Miller the Driller in Des Moines, Iowa, testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water and Natural Resources  regarding the GAO report titled “Opportunities and Challenges in the Creation of a Clean Water Trust Fund.” Young voiced AGC of America’s support of a “trust fund” for water infrastructure, and shared a contractor’s perspective on the funding challenges that local communities face in replacing and rehabilitating drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. In her testimony, Young stated that often a contractor is not called until disaster strikes, citing frequent infrastructure failures in her local community. Young also pointed out the high unemployment in the construction industry and referenced AGC research on how infrastructure investment spurs economic growth and provides employment for construction workers and numerous other industries. Young also cited the precedent for using trust funds to tackle national infrastructure priorities and that financing water infrastructure through a trust fund would have several advantages over general fund financing. This is because the funding stream would not be subject to the vagaries of the annual appropriations process, thereby providing the certainty that state and local officials need to commit to long-term infrastructure projects. Additionally, Young stated that the revenue sources for a trust fund must be defensible and supported by the public. Young also discussed the importance of educating the public about our water infrastructure needs and highlighted AGC’s efforts to do so with the Liquid Assets documentary. Several other witnesses including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Maryland Department of the Environment, and the American Society of Civil Engineers testified in support of the trust fund concept For a summary of the hearing content, witness testimonies and video of the hearing, click here. For more information, contact Perry L. Fowler at (703)837-5321 or fowlerp@agc.org.