On behalf of the over 400-members of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), I am writing to share our concern with H.R. 2794, the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act. This legislation would add unnecessary restrictions to mining activities over a large area of Northern Minnesota, impacting the ability to develop critical infrastructure and putting a crucial economic sector at risk that supplies high-paying jobs across rural communities.

The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) represent thousands of companies who are responsible for creating and supplying construction materials needed to build our infrastructure and communities.

I’m writing on behalf of the Opportunity America Jobs and Careers Coalition to express our support for Congress’s efforts to advance reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). We’re encouraged to see the legislation come to the floor and find things to admire in both Democratic and Republican versions – the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022 (H.R. 7309) and the Republican substitute amendment. We hope that when a law is finally passed, it will be bipartisan and borrow from both proposals.

The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO or Partnership) and the 93 undersigned organizations urge the Department of Labor’s (DOL or Department) Wage and Hour Division to abandon or at least postpone issuance of its announced proposed rulemaking altering the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Due to significant concerns with supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, inflationary pressures, and the shifting dynamics of the American workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic, any rule change now would be ill-advised.

On behalf of the over 400 members of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), I am writing to express our support for the Water Resources and Development Act of 2022. NSSGA supports efforts to improve and invest in all levels of our nation’s infrastructure network, including critical navigable waterways that are essential to America’s economic competitiveness. We appreciate the committee working together to put forward a bipartisan reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act.

On behalf of the over 400 members of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), I am writing to express our opposition to S. 1769, the “Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act.” NSSGA represents aggregates producers and those who manufacture equipment and services that support the construction industry. As drafted, this legislation could severely impede future aggregate production in California, limiting critical building materials in Los Angeles County and the surrounding region.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides you with a unique opportunity to directly confront the supply-chain challenges that are adversely impacting the U.S. economy and the daily lives of all Americans. We urge you to dedicate as much as allowable by law in discretionary grants for FY 2022 to support projects that will facilitate and ease the movement of goods. Over the past two years, the supply chain has endured extreme slowdowns due to pandemic-related pressures.

The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (“NSSGA”) submits these written comments to the Surface Transportation Board (“STB” or “Board”) pursuant to the April 7, 2022, Notice from the STB in the proceeding referenced above, which permits “written comments by any other interested person” concerning freight service. NSSGA members use freight rail to supply aggregates, particularly in fast growing metropolitan areas. The Association of American Railroads (“AAR”) estimates that freight rail moved 1.1 million rail cars of stone, sand, and gravel in 2020.

As Congress returns to session, we urge immediate consideration and passage of H.R. 4373, which would provide additional support for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. The legislation also includes S. 3011/H.R. 5735, a measure to provide greater flexibility to American Rescue Plan (ARP) state and local resources. The ARP law provided $350 billion in relief funds and $10 billion in capital improvement assistance, which was critical to state and local governments managing pandemic-induced budget shortfalls.

As Congress moves to consider H.R. 4373, which would provide additional support for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, we applaud the inclusion of S. 3011/H.R. 5735, a measure to provide greater flexibility to American Rescue Plan (ARP) state and local resources. The ARP law provided $350 billion in relief funds and $10 billion in capital improvement assistance, which was critical to state and local governments managing pandemic-induced budget shortfalls.