Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently received a letter from the Infrastructure Working Group, which advocated for bipartisan action to quickly fund infrastructure improvements the group feels are critical.

The IWG is headed by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Associated General Contractors, and includes over 150 organizations - uniting a wide variety of trade associations and others to rally support for infrastructure investments.

 
As reported by AC Business Media, the IWG stated "As this challenge persists and worsens, we encourage you to move a long-term, robustly funded surface transportation reauthorization ahead of the September 30, 2020 deadline. Substantial and long-term investments in all kinds of infrastructure are needed to expand our economy, grow jobs and compete globally. Passing a robust, long-term, on-time surface transportation bill is necessary to meet current infrastructure needs and begin to mitigate our nation's infrastructure deficit."

Without this funding in a timely manner, the group believes that expensive delays that slow construction schedules will occur and make projects more exorbitant and more challenging to complete.

To best accomplish this, the IWG has outlined six key principles:
1. Significantly increase direct federal investments in infrastructure;
2. Fix chronic challenges and address reoccurring shortages in key federal infrastructure accounts such as the Highway Trust Fund;
3. Complement and strengthen existing tools, such as municipal bonds, that successfully deliver infrastructure investments at the federal, state and local levels;
4. Facilitate opportunities for private investment in U.S. infrastructure;
5. Create efficiencies such as accelerating the federal permitting process, while continuing to provide environmental protections, and;
6. Encourage active participation among all levels of government and between public and private sectors without shifting federal responsibilities because no single partner can deliver a well-functioning, national U.S. infrastructure network driven by a long-term vision and funding stability.