Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/932759
AGGREGATES MANAGER / February 2018 3 February 2018 Vol. 23, No. 2 aggman.com /AggregatesManager /AggManEditor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Senior Editor: Kerry Clines Online Editor: Wayne Grayson editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@aggman.com Construction Media Vice President, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Kim Fieldbinder Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. 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(See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Onward to Infrastructure by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com EDITORIAL T he road to infrastructure investment has experienced two hallmarks often experienced on nation's highways: delays and potholes. Although infrastructure was promised to be addressed within the fi rst 100 days of President Trump's administration, it came as little surprise to those who have studied the development of past bills that 100 days came and went without a proposal. First, it was pushed to the fall, then put on hold as Congress took on tax reform. When tax reform was passed, expectations of an impending announcement were high. In early January, the president's chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn, discussed a proposal for a $1 trillion plan built around public-private partnerships. It included $200 billion in federal spending, as well as $800 billion from state, local, and private-sector sources. As these details began to emerge, President Trump told Republican leaders the same thing he said to Democrats months earlier: public- private partnerships are ineffective. Following his comments, the National Review wrote: "What's next? If the White House policy staff brings out a detailed infrastruc- ture-spending proposal along the lines of their earlier ideas, which the president has criticized, it is unlikely to get much of a hearing." The patch for this particular pothole may come from an endangered species: a bipartisan Congressional effort. On Jan. 10, U.S. Rep John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Eliza- beth Esty (D-Conn.), co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus Infrastructure Working Group, released a report (Rebuilding America's Infrastructure) highlighting its recom- mendations. "I was proud to work in a bipartisan manner…to produce a comprehensive report detailing areas in which we can begin to work together to streamline processes and provide sustainable funding solutions," Rep. Katko said in a press release. "In doing so, we've signaled to President Trump, as well as leaders on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate, that we are ready to work in a bipartisan manner to move our nation's infrastructure forward." "You cannot build a 21st century economy with a mid-20th century infrastruc- ture," Rep. Esty added. "It's time for infrastructure." Among the group's suggestions is "modernizing the current federal gasoline user fee" and implementing an indexing mechanism for future funds. Whether that hap- pens immediately or in a phased-in approach, the goal would be to ensure full and sustainable funds to the Highway Trust Fund. Other ideas include an annual regis- tration fee on electric and hybrid vehicles, a user fee based on the value of freight, and incentivized pilot projects to test mileage-based user fees. A bipartisan legislative approach would be a welcome change, as would an expeditious one. As the report notes: "Lawmakers must stop kicking this can down the road."