Contact your Congressmen and Tell Them to Support a Long-Term Bill
This week, select members of the House and Senate –called conferees – began negotiations on resolving the differences between the two chambers’ long-term highway & transit bills. However, with funding levels and duration yet to be agreed upon, negotiations are off to a slow start, which could result in yet another short-term extension if Congress does not reach a deal by November 20. AGC – along with our members and chapters – has been a leader in the reauthorization process and advocated for the construction industry’s priorities in a letter to all conferees, detailing which provisions and policies should be included in a final transportation bill. Please visit Hardhats for Highways and send a letter to your members of Congress, urging them to support a long-term highway & transit bill.
As reported in last week’s newsletter, the House bill included additional revenue that could potentially be used to fully fund either a five-year bill at levels above the Senate-passed DRIVE Act or a six-year bill at flat funding levels equal to what the House-passed STRRA included. AGC joined other transportation stakeholders in sending a letter to House and Senate leaders and the conferees asking for a shorter authorization and increased funding levels. As of this afternoon, no decision has been made on how Congressional leaders plan on using the additional revenue from the House provision.
AGC will continue to work with Congressional leaders and conferees to ensure that the final transportation bill provides increased funding levels and includes policies and priorities important to the construction industry.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.