The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided states and localities with $350 billion in relief funds and $10 billion in capital improvement assistance at a time of critical need.  The COVID-19 pandemic ripped a gaping hole in the budgets of many local governments, making this assistance crucial for many workers and businesses across the nation. However, the funds lack clear guidance to states and localities on their applicability.

We have significant concerns with policies and programs that tend to promote specific building materials. Engineers and construction professionals should make decisions about which materials to use to meet the codes, standards and specifications of the project. It is inappropriate for Congress to stack the deck for or against specific building materials: Congress should not pick winners and losers and should not promote policies or programs that prefer one building material over another. Mass timber is often promoted as a sustainable building material.

As your committee understands well, federal infrastructure investment at all levels is critical for our nation’s economic recovery and water infrastructure projects are no different, especially those vital projects covered by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) chief reports via the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorizations. Robust federal investment in water infrastructure would put tens of thousands of Americans back to work and improve the daily lives of millions of Americans regarding navigable waterway projects, shoreline protection, flood mitigation and so much more.

On behalf of the 400 members of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), I am writing to share our views on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Appropriations bills being considered by the House of Representatives. NSSGA appreciates the work of the Committee and all members of the House to responsibly fund the government and address our pressing infrastructure needs before September 30.  

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country, and the 280 undersigned organizations write in opposition to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, S. 420. This radical legislation would violate workers’ free choice and privacy rights, jeopardize industrial stability, cost millions of American jobs, threaten vital supply chains, and greatly hinder our economic recovery from COVID-19.

On behalf of manufacturers nationwide and the millions of Americans who stand to benefit from revitalized U.S. infrastructure, we write to urge you to take up and pass the bipartisan infrastructure deal recently announced by President Biden and leaders in Congress. Manufacturers have spent years calling for bold, bipartisan infrastructure investments that bolster America’s competitiveness, and now is the time to act on this historic opportunity.

However, legislative proposals like the misleadingly named “Protecting the Right to Organize” (PRO) Act is an unprecedented attempt to fundamentally change dozens of well-established labor laws at a time of tenuous economic recovery. While there have been no reported barriers with workers seeking to consider unionizing in our industry, this legislation would disrupt the rights of workers and employers and add unworkable mandates that would severely impact the ability to efficiently produce and deliver construction materials. It is a solution in search of a problem.

As the Senate continues its work on a surface transportation reauthorization bill and negotiates the details of a bipartisan infrastructure package, we ask that members of the Republican Conference take a stand against any proposal to increase minimum liability insurance requirements for motor carriers. Such an increase is wholly unnecessary, would do nothing to improve highway safety, needlessly jeopardize countless blue collar jobs, and destroy many small, family-owned businesses.

As the Senate continues its work on a surface transportation reauthorization bill and negotiates the details of a bipartisan infrastructure package, we discourage members of the Democratic Conference from pursuing any increase in minimum liability insurance requirements for motor carriers. Such an increase is wholly unnecessary, would do nothing to improve highway safety, needlessly jeopardize countless blue collar jobs, destroy many small and family-owned businesses, and threaten necessary bipartisan support for any legislation that includes it.

To be clear, our member companies support Buy America policies that ensure American manufacturing is protected and undue influence from foreign adversaries is not reaping the benefits of taxpayer investments; however, since Buy America’s enactment, Congress, and every administration, Republican and Democrat, have long understood that certain construction materials and their inputs should not be included under Buy America’s regulatory framework, and we reiterate this long-standing position.