Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) senior vice president of government and industry relations Kip Eideberg issued the following statement on the urgent need for the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“As the U.S. House of Representatives comes up against another self-imposed deadline to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the facts remain the same: This is a bipartisan, fully funded bill that is not connected to partisan legislation currently under consideration in Washington. The need to make once-in-a-century investments in our roads and bridges, public transit, rail and ports, clean water, and broadband – not to mention the 100,000 family-sustaining equipment manufacturing jobs it will create – has never been greater. The mounting economic consequences of inaction are hitting equipment manufacturers across the country at a time when they can least afford it. The U.S. House of Representatives is running out of time to deliver a much-needed win for the 2.8 million men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry and the U.S. economy. We once again urge Democrats and Republicans to put policy ahead of politics, pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and send it to President Biden’s desk for his signature.”

AEM released a study earlier this year that shows new potential infrastructure investments made by Congress over the next several years could create more than 100,000 family-sustaining equipment manufacturing jobs and nearly 500,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs overall.