Build Those Bridges, Say Trade Groups

Two national equipment industry trade groups have launched an effort to get U.S. House and Senate candidates to commit to making transportation and water infrastructure investment a top priority in the next Congress.

The Infrastructure Campaign Pledge is part of the “Start Us Up USA!” national campaign led by the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), Oak Brook, Ill., and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Milwaukee. In the past year, the “Start Us Up USA!” campaign has coordinated five rallies and caravans of “idle equipment” in major cities, according to the two groups. The rallies are designed to highlight what the AEM calls “the dire economic conditions in the equipment industry and the need for sustained and substantial investment to address the nation’s highway and water infrastructure needs.”

AEM says “Start Us Up USA!” will send the Infrastructure Campaign Pledge to every candidate for the U.S. House and Senate. The pledge has candidates publicly committing to supporting robust federal investment in surface transportation and water infrastructure programs.