"Moving America Forward" Presidential Candidate Forum

 
–  video , C-SPAN 
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Sunday, February 16, 2020 at University of Nevada Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV.

4 CANDIDATES: Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Steyer.

Background: The forum provided an opportunity for candidates to "lay out their vision for an infrastructure plan that supports a strong economy, job creation, consumer safety and national security." Gerry Seib, executive Washington editor of the Wall Street Journal, and Jean Cumming, deputy chief of the Washington bureau of the Wall Street Journal, moderated the forum.  Each candidate had 20-25 minutes, fielding questions from the moderators and questions that had been submitted.
   

Association of Equipment Manufacturers
November 20, 2019

AEM TO CO-HOST “MOVING AMERICA FORWARD” PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORUM AT UNLV WITH OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE STAKEHOLDERS

Presidential Candidate Forum in Nevada on President’s Day Weekend will coincide with the start of early voting in the Nevada presidential caucuses.

Host committee representing millions of workers includes the Association of Equipment Manufacturers International Union of Operating Engineers, Transportation Workers Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Transportation Association, Value of Water Campaign, & American Road and Transportation Builders Association

November 20, 2019 – Washington, DC – Today, a group of leading labor unions and associations announced “Moving America Forward: a 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on Infrastructure,” convened by United for Infrastructure, to be held over President’s Day Weekend 2020 on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). President’s Day Weekend marks the start of early voting in Nevada’s presidential caucuses.

“We’re excited to join our labor and industry partners in ensuring our nation’s infrastructure challenges are given the focus and attention they urgently require by 2020 presidential candidates,” said AEM President Dennis Slater. “For too long, serious infrastructure policy has been left on the back burner of many candidates’ agendas. This forum will give candidates the opportunity to share what they think is needed to address our nation’s infrastructure opportunities with American voters at a critical time in the election year. We need their best ideas to help drive America towards a more modernized infrastructure that will benefit equipment manufacturers and our 1.3 million men and women, U.S. farmers, and the broader national economy.”

The host committee for the bipartisan candidate forum represents millions of union members, public sector workers, engineers, transportation and water agencies, and manufacturers. Host committee members include the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, International Union of Operating Engineers, Transportation Workers Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Transportation Association, Value of Water Campaign, and American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

Infrastructure presents both an urgent challenge and a singular opportunity for the next presidential administration to address an issue that affects every American. It is also an issue that 90 percent of Americans believe should be a priority for the next administration. Infrastructure dictates access to jobs, education, and health care; it can help alleviate or exacerbate rising inequality; it can help solve the affordable housing crisis; and it is key to how American’s experience climate change pressures. The forum will be an opportunity for candidates to address the challenges facing American’s roads and transit systems, bridges and railroads, ports and airports, and water and wastewater systems -- and to lay out their vision for an infrastructure plan that supports a strong economy, job creation, consumer safety and national security.

The forum is convened by United for Infrastructure, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the importance of America’s infrastructure. The forum will be open to members of the press. Contact Abigail Gardner, agardner@unitedforinfrastructure.org, for more information.

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United for Infrastructure is a 501(c)(4) non-partisan, non-profit institution dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the importance of America’s infrastructure. United for Infrastructure annually convenes the national Infrastructure Week, a week of advocacy and education that engages millions of Americans on the importance of investing in our nation’s roads, bridges, tunnels, water systems, energy grid and more. Read more about United for Infrastructure and its projects here.

AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry supports 1.3 million jobs in the U.S. Equipment manufacturers also contribute $159 billion to the U.S. economy. AEM is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2019.

Visit www.aem.org/advocacy for more information.

American Society of Civil Engineers
November 20, 2019

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS ANNOUNCES “MOVING AMERICA FORWARD” PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORUM ON INFRASTRUCTURE AT UNLV

Host committee representing millions of workers includes American Society of Civil Engineers, International Union of Operating Engineers, Transportation Workers Union, American Public Transportation Association, Value of Water Campaign, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, and Association of Equipment Manufacturers

Washington, DC - Today, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a group of leading labor unions and other stakeholders announced a 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on Infrastructure, to be held over President's Day Weekend 2020, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). President's Day Weekend marks the start of early voting in Nevada's presidential caucuses.

The host committee for the bipartisan candidate forum represents millions of union members, public sector workers, engineers, transportation and water agencies and manufacturers. In addition to ASCE, Host committee members include International Union of Operating Engineers, Transportation Workers Union, American Public Transportation Association, Value of Water Campaign, American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

[1]  ASCE's 2017 Infrastructure Report Card rated the overall condition of the nation's infrastructure a cumulative grade of "D+," with an investment gap of $2 trillion. Americans waste 42 hours per year stuck in traffic and every two minutes, a water main breaks somewhere in the country. Infrastructure presents both an urgent challenge and a singular opportunity for the next presidential administration to address an issue that affects every everyone. [2]  90% of Americans believe infrastructure should be a priority for the next administration. Infrastructure dictates access to jobs, education and health care; it can help alleviate or exacerbate rising inequality; it can help solve the affordable housing crisis; and it is key to how Americans address climate change and its effects on our infrastructure. The forum will be an opportunity for candidates to address the challenges facing American's roads and transit systems, bridges and railroads, ports and airports and water and wastewater systems - and to lay out their vision for an infrastructure plan that supports a strong economy, job creation, consumer safety and national security.

"Our nation is at a crossroads. Deteriorating infrastructure is not only impeding our ability to compete in a thriving economy, but it is also holding back advances to prepare us for the future," said Tom Smith, ASCE Executive Director. "In addition, each American family is losing [3]  $3,400 in disposable income each year - more than $9 a day - due to poor infrastructure. Modernizing our infrastructure is one of the only areas today where there is bipartisan agreement, and Americans want to hear from the candidates on their ideas to improve our roads and bridges, drinking and wastewater systems, electric grid and more. I look forward to a thoughtful discussion on where we go from here."

The forum is convened by United for Infrastructure, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the importance of America's infrastructure. The forum will be open to members of the press. Contact Abigail Gardner, agardner@unitedforinfrastructure.org, for more information. 

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ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org   or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.

ABOUT UNITED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
United for Infrastructure is a 501(c)(4) non-partisan, non-profit institution dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the importance of America's infrastructure. United for Infrastructure annually convenes the national Infrastructure Week, a week of advocacy and education that engages millions of Americans on the importance of investing in our nation's roads, bridges, tunnels, water systems, energy grid and more. Read more about United for Infrastructure and its projects here.

[1]  ASCE 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org
[2]  Benenson Strategy Group polling, Build Together: Renew America's Infrastructure. (2019)
[3]  Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for America's Economic Future. (2016) www.asce.org/failuretoact