We need another infrastructure law

Carlo Scissura is president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, a membership coalition of more than 500 organizations and 250,000 skilled trades and professionals in the New York City area. The opinions are the author’s own.

America will see a new administration next week, and its agenda for the next four years is starting to come together. As President-elect Donald Trump begins his term, we pledge to work with congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle to bring the country together, metaphorically and literally.

We cannot afford to ignore the crumbling infrastructure of our nation, including our urban centers. Americans need a renewed commitment from lawmakers of all political stripes to come together and act now to advance a strong new infrastructure plan that can reshape the nation’s physical landscape in ways that build resilience economic and face the demands of a rapidly changing country. Our future depends on it.

Signed by President Joe Biden just over three years ago, the Infrastructure Jobs and Investment Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure bill, represented a firm step in the right direction to address much-needed repairs and expansions in our roads, bridges and water systems. , public transport, broadband and beyond. The law brought $1.2 trillion to key projects across America.

From $100 million to build broadband Internet networks in South Dakota to improving roads outside Shreveport, Louisiana, these seemingly unconnected local projects not only create jobs but generate economic income and strengthen connections between communities.

In my home state of New York, the IIJA has assigned 22.7 billion dollars in funding, with more than 515 specific projects already identified. New York City recently announced that its federal infrastructure funding task force had secured more 2.3 billion dollars in grants to support improving their infrastructure and prepare for the impacts of bad weather. States across the country, from Alaska to Florida, are seeing the same progress on key projects in their own communities.

At the New York Building Congress, a coalition of more than 500 organizations and 250,000 qualified building professionals and tradespeople, we recognize the historic nature of this investment that puts people above politics. For more than a century, we’ve advocated for this kind of investment in our infrastructure, not just in New York City but across the United States. Our members are the people who work every day to build our cities and communities, but they can’t do it alone.

The construction industry remains one of the strongest paths to the middle class for thousands of American workers. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the nation’s labor force growth, but thanks in part to legislation like the IIJA, along with state-driven reforms, we’re now on track for a stronger recovery . In New York State alone, our construction workforce is now poised to match its pre-pandemic level 590,000 workers within a year

Boost growth

We want more people to thrive in the construction industry doing good paying jobs and building a better life for themselves and their families. A new infrastructure plan will further boost our industry and help achieve the new administration’s goal of protecting manufacturing, infrastructure and the workforce. It can also spawn dream projects like high-speed rail, smart roads and future-proof state-of-the-art energy grids.

A new infrastructure law can further boost economic growth, bring more essential improvements to our communities, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. This will enrich lives, stimulate the US economy, and strengthen the infrastructure that is critical to America’s competitiveness. This law will help improve the quality of life for Americans today while setting the country up for future success with a more resilient infrastructure better prepared to withstand the ongoing impacts of more frequent severe weather events.