NECA Voices Support of Long-Term Transportation Bill

John M. Grau, CEO of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), released the following statement on the release of the Conference Report for the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act:

“A systemic failure to adequately invest in our nation's infrastructure has taken its toll on the NECA’s contractors. NECA applauds Congress for ending the cycle of extensions and patches and finally providing the funding and certainty necessary to plan and execute long-term construction projects with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. A long-term, well-funded surface transportation bill is critical to addressing the state of good repair backlog across the network and to expanding capacity.

“We must provide robust funding to address the state of good repair backlog across the transportation network and upgrade the system to expand capacity. This is critical to ensuring the safety and efficiency of the network and will help the flow of goods and people around the country. The FAST Act will help us get there.

“Studies show that every $1 billion in infrastructure investment creates 28,500 direct and indirect jobs, providing our economy and American taxpayers with a high return on investment. It is money well spent. Infrastructure investment is of particular importance to the electrical construction industry — it keeps firms in business and their employees working.”