The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the a statement in reaction to President Trump's State of the Union call for $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investments and significantly accelerating the approval process for projects.

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in reaction to President Trump's State of the Union call for $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investments and significantly accelerating the approval process for projects:

"President Trump understands that the best way to fully capitalize on recently enacted tax reforms is to make significant new investments in infrastructure. While the tax cuts appear to be boosting the private sector, our economic growth is being constrained by traffic-clogged roads, aging bridges, decaying waterways and overburdened clean water systems.

"President Trump made a strong and compelling case for Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to provide an additional $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investments. These investments will help improve aging public works and allow state and local officials to make the kind of investments needed to maintain our global economic competitiveness.

"As significant is the President's call to make long-overdue reforms to a federal approval process that leaves needed projects languishing through years of redundant reviews. Finding a way to make decisions in months, instead of years, while still holding projects to a high standard for approval, will save taxpayers billions, restore public confidence in our ability to invest wisely and continue to protect the environment.

"The president is also right to seek to increase federal investments in career and technical education so we can prepare displaced workers from other sectors of the economy and new workers for high-paying careers in construction. These new workers will play an invaluable role in helping the nation rebuild its infrastructure.

"Moving forward, the association will work vigorously to ensure Congress passes a significant, new, long-term infrastructure funding package that includes many of the common sense regulatory reforms we have long-urged Washington officials to enact and that addresses the chronic funding shortfalls affecting the Highway Trust Fund. Our goal will be to make sure members of Congress understand that passing such a measure will create new jobs and economic opportunity in their home districts while ensuring that our economy remains globally competitive."

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