With COVID relief legislation talks stalled, only 13 legislative days remaining before the election, and the current federal surface transportation authorization law—the FAST Act—expiring on September 30, AGC is working to unite the transportation stakeholder community around a common message going into next month. With that in mind, the 32 national trade association and construction labor unions on the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) on August 17 agreed to three principle messages for Congress: (1) pass a growth-oriented, turn-key, one-year extension of current surface transportation law; (2) ensure the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund; and (3) provide additional federal funding to state DOTs. Although it is disappointing that Congress could not pass a multi-year reauthorization bill, AGC wants to ensure that its members have the greatest degree of certainty and funding possible going into FY 2021. With the real potential of the federal surface transportation program facing a series of short-term extensions because of a logjam of must-pass legislative priorities before the November elections, AGC and the TCC agreed that a one-year extension with additional funding is the best option remaining on the table. AGC is working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers to coordinate a similar message through the Americans for Transportation Mobility and Infrastructure Working Group coalitions, respectively.
For more information, contact Murphie Barrett at murphie.barrett@agc.org.