Evan Bender, director of government affairs at the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), provided legislative and government affairs updates pertaining to the aggregates industry during last month’s Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference. Bender discussed the state of NSSGA, the upcoming expiration of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) and the association’s hopes for a new highway bill. He also touched on how November’s elections may impact legislation.
The conversation here, which took place April 1, was edited for brevity and clarity.
P&Q: How would you describe where NSSGA is today? With Michele Stanley as the new president and CEO of the organization, what’s top of mind for NSSGA?
Bender: We’re so glad to have Michele as our new president and CEO. As some critical legislation comes up like the new highway bill, she would say advocacy is at the forefront of everything we do in Washington – both before Congress and the administration.
Michele’s put together a solid, passionate staff. She just brought on Mira Lezell as senior vice president for government and regulatory affairs. Mira was a great hire, coming directly from the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) subcommittee on highways. We have a team that knows the ins and outs of policy and where to go in Washington to get things done.
P&Q: How do you describe Michele’s leadership style? What does she bring to the association?
Bender: Nobody works harder than her. She wants to hear from members, and she wants what we do to be member driven. We rely quite a bit on our members to steer our policy and staff to get their individual priorities done at the policy level.
P&Q: What does the future hold for IIJA and a potential new highway bill?
Bender: At ConExpo-Con/Agg, we had the opportunity to hear from House Transportation & Infrastructure chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri), who announced he is going to retire at the end of his term, as well as ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Washington). They both gave their insights on the bill.
The government shutdown in October and November didn’t help. It was the longest shutdown in government history. That initially pushed the timeframe for bill text from the fourth quarter of last year into this spring.
I would expect to see a highway bill [introduced] in late April or early May. The IIJA expires on Sept. 30, so it’s critical that Congress gets moving if we want to see a bill this year. That’s obviously what we’re pushing for.
P&Q: What did IIJA do right in terms of its construction, and what can we learn from it to do more for the core aggregates industry with the next highway bill?
Bender: We want to see an increase in the amount of highway funding, adjusting for inflation that’s eaten up a lot of the construction costs funded by IIJA over the last five years. IIJA funded highway programs at $350 billion.
IIJA was a five-year bill, which provided multiyear certainty for the industry. We’d like to see another multiyear bill this time. The other option – and they did this prior to IIJA as well – is a one-year extension to allow Congress to get its ducks in a row to pass a multiyear bill.
Lastly, IIJA put an emphasis on formula funds, but there were a bunch of discretionary grant programs layered on top. We’d like to see an even greater emphasis on formula funds in a new bill so money can be delivered directly to the states, and it gets out the door faster.
P&Q: Where does infrastructure currently rank as a priority for this Congress and administration? What role are international and domestic factors playing in where infrastructure ranks?
Bender: There’s a lot on the docket for this administration. I’d like to see the president and the administration be a little more vocal about an infrastructure bill. The last two highway bills – IIJA in 2021 and the FAST Act in 2015 – were signed under Joe Biden and Barack Obama, respectively. So President Trump hasn’t had his signature on a major infrastructure bill yet.
P&Q: What impact are upcoming elections having on the push, or lack thereof, for a new highway bill?
Bender: For IIJA in 2021, only 13 House Republicans voted for it. Right now, there are four of those Republicans left in Congress. There’s been a big advocacy push on our part to get members on both sides of the aisle who either weren’t in Congress in 2021 – or didn’t vote in favor of the last highway bill – on board this go-around.
In general, I would say about 80 percent of Congress is made up of people who want to get good policies across the finish line. Transportation and Infrastructure is a bipartisan issue – and a bipartisan committee – and I think members are working pretty well across the aisle. Chairman Graves and ranking member Larsen work well together at the committee level, so hopefully politics won’t get in the way ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.
With every legislative day that gets cross off, especially as the November election nears, it gets harder to pass big bipartisan bills.
P&Q: How does NSSGA approach new members entering Congress? Is it a challenge? An opportunity? Both?
Bender: We’re always looking for new members of Congress who want to get good policy done and want to support the infrastructure in the local economy in their district.
One thing we do constantly is interact with individuals who are running for Congress – ones we might see in Washington soon – so we can get not only get to know them and what they’re about, but so they can get to know us, our industry and why we have such a strong voice in Washington.
We’re really trying to build those relationships, which are key to getting things done once they get up here.
