Long-term infrastructure funding—not "shovel ready" projects—focus of coming legislation, congressman tells equipment dealers

The construction equipment industry should expect highway infrastructure spending to play a key role in any upcoming recovery package, said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

“We’ve been living off the legacy of Dwight David Eisenhower for 60 years,” DeFazio told the group. “It’s worn out, it’s wearing out and it’s obsolete.”

Rep. Peter DeFazio on the AED conference call.And, he added, “we’re not doing shovel-ready,” referring to the emphasis placed on projects ready for contract in the 2009 stimulus spending bill. “That’s not major projects, that’s not building out a 21st century infrastructure, and people don’t need to buy new equipment for that. We need a long-term promise of major investment.”

DeFazio made these remarks during a call with members of the Associated Equipment Distributors, which highlighted what dealers could expect from the new Congress.

Before the recovery package, however, will be a relief package, aimed at helping businesses and individuals recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

DeFazio said the legislation he spearheaded – the 2020 INVEST in America Act (the acronym stands for Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) – will serve as the basis for the House highway infrastructure spending component of the recovery package. The bill passed the House in July but was not taken up by the Senate.

The five-year, $494 billion INVEST proposal would have used money in the Highway Trust Fund to finance highway, transit, safety and research programs. The bill proposed to spend $319 billion on the Federal-Aid Highway Program.