Leif Wathne, Bill Cuerdon, and Heather Steffek met by web conference with Rep. John Katko (R-NY-24) and Tristan Southard, a senior legislative aid for the Congressman during last week’s Cement and Concrete Fly-In (see related story, ACPA and Allies Advance Priorities at Fly-In). Also participating in the meeting was Lisa Stephen, President of Wayne Concrete, which is located a short distance from New York in Shinglehouse, PA.

Rep. Katko reiterated his interest in seeing bipartisan support for infrastructure, as well as a responsible way to pay for it.  He also said water is a priority.

As we’ve reported previously in ACPA TODAY, Rep. Katko and Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA-17) co-chair the Infrastructure Working Group of the Problem Solvers Caucus and are strong supporters of highway program reauthorization, as well as backstop funding for state DOTs and options to transition from the federal gas tax to a more sustainable funding mechanism.

He said the Highway Trust Fund is “broken,” adding that the nation ultimately needs to implement a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) system, which he indicated would take time to implement. “I hope that we’ll see a more substantive discussion about meaningful ways to pay for infrastructure this time around,” he said, adding that long-term sustainable funding is critically important.

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