New President, New Congress, New Public Works Policy Priorities Unveiled
With President Trump preparing to be inaugurated as the 119th Congress begins, the American Public Works Association (APWA), an organization comprising of 32,000 public works professionals began delivering its new public policy priorities to each of Capitol Hill’s 535 Congressional offices.
Under the broad topics of emergency management, transportation and water resiliency, the policies are crafted by APWA members to help focus legislative and regulatory discussions as they impact communities nationwide.
“The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act is maturing but our roads and bridges still need more attention, and our public works and engineering workforces are still not where they need to be,” APWA President Dominick Longobardi said. “APWA’s public policy priorities for the 119th Congress are designed to help our elected and appointed federal officials stay focused on what has been agreed to by both sides of the aisle and remind them of what still needs to be done.”
“As an organization, APWA is involved at the federal level in the development of laws and regulations that affect public works departments throughout the country,” said APWA CEO Scott D. Grayson, CAE. “With a new Congress and a new president, it’s important for our membership to be able to share what’s important regarding the central needs that ensure our hometowns’ quality of life.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to make a difference,” APWA Government Affairs Committee Chair Jeff May, the public works director for the City of Clive, IA, said about the release of the new policy priorities. “When you consider emergency management and the need to be able to address more and more federal disasters, the amount of money needed to address these issues is needed and very important to determining how we’re going to thrive as communities.”
According to APWA, To develop its public policy priorities for each new session of Congress, APWA regularly surveys its members to determine key concerns. The APWA Government Affairs Committee, comprised of public works experts from around the country, and APWA’s professional Government Affairs team, then develops each priority for review and approval by the APWA Board of Directors.
The policy priority areas for the 119th Congress are unchanged from the 118th Congress. However, points within each of them have been revised to reflect achievements over the past two years and declare legislative and regulatory changes still needed to best support our nation’s critical infrastructure and the public works workforce.
