Letters to Washington
| October 20, 2021

Letter Urges StandAlone Vote on IIJA

The thousands of men and women who work across the aggregates industry, and their counterparts who work in millions of jobs related to the construction industry, depend upon congressional action to keep their livelihoods and provide for their families. Unfortunately, that is in jeopardy as unnecessary politics has tied the fate of the bipartisan IIJA to an unfinished, partisan budget reconciliation package. The Houses failure to vote on the IIJA at the end of September led to a short-term patch, keeping the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) operational until November 1. The short-term extensions and future uncertainty have already halted planning and construction of major infrastructure projects around the country. Currently, state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are limiting project activity, as they are not sure if and when House action on the IIJA will occur. The history of repeated extensions of the highway program is unacceptable and an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. Further, with the ongoing cash flow issues facing the HTF, it is expected there will be a shortfall of available dollars to fund federal projects next month. If Congress does not vote on the IIJA in the coming weeks, billions of dollars of additional spending will likely be necessary to keep federal surface transportation programs afloat.