ASA is part a coalition of organizations throughout the manufacturing supply chain urging Congress to advance a bold, long-term infrastructure bill to address the nation’s longstanding infrastructure needs, and to provide much-needed stability and certainty for the sector during this critical time.

ASA and its coalition partners in a letter to elected federal officials encourage members of Congress to come together in a bipartisan manner to provide historic investment and pass a surface transportation reauthorization ahead of the Sept. 20 deadline.

ASA and its partners noted during the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers in America have continued operating while doing everything possible to ensure the health and safety of millions of employees, their families and their communities.  

Transportation and logistics partners across the manufacturing supply chain went into overdrive to provide our sector with the capabilities to meet the immediate challenges posed by COVID-19. These partners enabled the industry’s efforts to increase production, retool supply chains and adapt to quickly evolving circumstances to get critical supplies to the parts of the country that needed them most.

Manufacturers’ ongoing response efforts depend on our nation’s infrastructure system, and taking action now to invest in and modernize infrastructure can advance the next steps of recovery and renewal, ASA stated.

Even before the crisis, ASA noted the country desperately needed robust infrastructure investments. Now. Building a 21st century infrastructure system will not only provide urgently needed jobs, but also lay the foundation for a more competitive economy. Congressional action, ASA and its partners added, is necessary to address the revenue shortfalls facing state transportation departments due to unexpected decreased in road travel.  

Forward-looking, long-term investments in all kinds of infrastructure are needed to renew and expand the economy, grow jobs and compete globally. Acting now to invest in the nation’s infrastructure will avoid interruption to ongoing projects and empower state officials and the private sector to proceed with planning new, bold infrastructure  projects across the country.

ASA and its coalition partners appreciate efforts in both the House and Senate on key pieces of federal infrastructure authorizations, and urge Congress to advance proposals that can unite stakeholders by prioritizing progress on a robustly funded, on-time surface transportation reauthorization.