Friday
March 9, 2007
AGC Says H.R. 720 is First
Step Toward A Lasting Legacy of Clean and Safe Water for All Americans
Source: Associated General Contractors of America
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) report a funding gap of $300 billion to $500 billion that is needed over the next 20 years to address wastewater collection and treatment needs nationwide.
H.R. 720 opens the door to a lasting legacy of clean water for all Americans. It will simply renew the federal commitment to clean water by reauthorizing the highly successful, but under funded, CWSRF program, and would help ensure adequate and continued financial assistance to municipalities to meet the goals of the federal water quality program.
In addition to the investment called for in H.R. 720, AGC supports creation of a long-term, sustainable, off-budget source of funding for clean water by creating a dedicated trust fund to finance the construction and maintenance of wastewater facilities. Recent polling shows that an overwhelming majority - 86 percent of Americans - would support the creation of such a trust fund.
"This is an extremely popular program that protects public health and environment, if Congress continues to under fund this critical infrastructure it irresponsibly shifts the burden to the next generation," added Sandherr.
H.R. 720 makes a first step toward the creation of a trust fund calling on the GAO to conduct a study to assist Congress in quickly identifying a dedicated source(s) of revenue to establish a Clean Water Trust Fund that would ensure the availability of appropriations to fund clean water needs over the long-term.
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the largest and oldest national construction trade association in the United States. AGC represents more than 32,000 firms, including 7,000 of America's leading general contractors, and over 11,000 specialty-contracting firms. More than 13,000 service providers and suppliers are associated with AGC through a nationwide network of chapters. Visit the AGC Web site at www.agc.org AGC members are "Building Your Quality of Life."
Contact:Kelley Keeler (703) 837-5310 keelerk@agc.org
Stu Megaw (703) 837-5321 megaws@agc.org