Let’s talk about Pennywise and Pound Fool.
Will funding for infrastructure be cut off? Speculation is rife in Washington about who will serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s next Cabinet, but Roll Call reports that many of the politicians who chair key Senate committees are skeptical of federal infrastructure spending. It is pointed out that there is.
They will challenge cuts to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021, which expires in 2026. And Republicans, who will soon control both branches of Congress, may not be keen on reauthorizing anything close to that. Up to current funding levels.
The Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 added $550 billion in new spending for roads, bridges and public transportation, making it the so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill. Nineteen Senate Republicans voted in favor, but President-elect Donald Trump’s stated intention to shrink the government could mean lower funding levels next time.
“It remains to be seen whether the next bill will be a Capital ‘I’ infrastructure bill or a surface transportation reauthorization bill,” Susan Howard, director of policy and government relations for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said in August. Ta. At the State Legislature Summit. “We’re probably going to get different answers on this question in different areas, but I don’t think we really know yet what the focus will be.”
Now that the problem is solved, we can more accurately guess where the focus is. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Commerce Committee that oversees the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak, said he has “questions about how tax dollars are spent on Amtrak and high-speed rail projects. There is.” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the likely chairman of the Banking Committee, has emphasized regional solutions to public transportation problems. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), who voted for the 2021 bill, has since criticized its implementation.
To be clear, the American Manufacturing Alliance strongly agree The 2021 Act, specifically the significant expansion of the Buy America procurement rules that it contains. That bill is long overdue. By the time the bill was passed, approximately 230,000 bridges It was in a state of disrepair. 40% or more public road He was in a dangerous condition. By 2039, the accumulation of aging assets will increase U.S. GDP to $10 trillion, employment to 3 million people, and export losses of $2.4 trillion due to increased operating costs, lost time, and wasted fuel. It is predicted that this will occur.
Rebuilding these assets with American-made materials and manufactured products is a double whammy of economic benefits. It will improve the logistics network that is the foundation of the U.S. economy while supporting U.S. manufacturing. You can draw a straight line from reliable infrastructure to competitiveness of your manufacturing site.
On the other hand, inadvertent erosion of our infrastructure will make manufacturing in America even more difficult. Cutting infrastructure spending in the name of deficit reduction would be foolish and cost nothing.
