Key Lawmakers Weigh In on Aggregates Industry Issues

Bender and Pugh

By Evan Bender and Adam Pugh, NSSGA

 

As Congress nears the halfway point of the first session of the 119th Congress, key legislation impacting the aggregates industry is still on the table. The government affairs staff of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) has hit Capitol Hill to advocate for our legislative agenda. Here’s what key leaders on Capitol Hill are saying.

 

The deck has been cleared with the Senate confirming most of President Trump’s nominations and Congress extending government funding through Sept. 30. Now, Congress appears poised to proceed on key legislation like budget reconciliation and surface transportation. NSSGA has spent a lot of time getting to know the new members of the 119th Congress. More than one-third of the current House members were not in office when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law in 2021, however, some familiar faces find themselves in key positions of power to advance legislation that will impact the aggregates industry.

Budget Reconciliation Bill

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO) has jurisdiction over tax and trade policy. Smith is leading the way for Congress to consider a budget reconciliation bill, which would include reauthorizing key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

 

"Congress must quickly extend the Trump tax cuts and deliver on President Trump’s promises to the American people," said Smith. "The Republicans in the House of Representative got the ball rolling on one big, beautiful bill to stop the largest tax hike in our country’s history, fund much-needed border security and restore American energy dominance. Congress must not rest until we put that bill on President Trump’s desk."

 

NSSGA has been a constant voice on Capitol Hill, pushing for key provisions to be included in the tax bill.

 

Surface Transportation Jurisdiction

While House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Sam Graves (MO) is serving in his fourth term as Chair, the Highways & Transit Subcommittee’s new Chair is Rep. David Rouzer (NC). He will have jurisdiction over surface transportation. Rouzer previously served as Chairman of the Water Resources Subcommittee also under T&I. In a January hearing on surface transportation reauthorization, Rouzer mirrored NSSGA concerns on the Highway Trust Fund’s (HTF) long-term solvency, while highlighting the current system doesn’t encapsulate electric vehicles.

 

"It is wholly unfair that an entire segment of users doesn’t contribute to the roads and bridges they use," said Rouzer. "This won’t address the greater solvency issue, but we must rectify this, so all users are treated fairly and contribute to the systems on which they rely."

 

With the HTF facing budget shortfalls, alternative revenue sources remain a key industry priority heading into the next surface reauthorization.

 

Highways & Environmental Policy

In the Senate, the Committee on Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (WV) has jurisdiction over highways, including the construction and maintenance of highways and environmental policy. In recent hearings over surface transportation, Capito supported the reliability formula funding.

 

"On the positive side, the federal highway formula programs received approximately 90 percent of the funding in the IIJA … In my home state of West Virginia, that formula funding is upgrading and modernizing our roads and bridges," said Capito.

 

The committee has had bipartisan calls supporting environmental review and permitting reform. These processes have often been used to delay, remand, or strike down projects or raise costs.

 

"Meanwhile, businesses lack the certainty necessary to make long-term investments, which can mean lost jobs, missed economic opportunities for communities, scarcity and higher prices across the nation," said Capito.

 

While there is a positive attitude on the Hill right now for consideration of legislation on tax, highway funding and permitting reform, the politically charged environment of Washington, D.C., and the tight margins in both chambers of Congress will prove these tasks to be difficult. The industry should remain vigilant in these policy discussions, and their potential implications for business operations. If you would like to speak to an NSSGA’s GARA team member on policy issues affecting the aggregates industry, email ebender@nssga.org or apugh@nssga.org.

Originally published in May/June 2025 NSSGA REVIEW.