In a live interview on Fox News on Aug. 20, ABC President and CEO Bellaman praised President Trump’s recent executive order streamlining infrastructure permitting, saying it goes a long way towards eliminating construction delays and sets the table for when legislation is passed. But we have “a whole lot to do” before infrastructure rebuilding can begin.

In particular, construction industry leaders need flexibility to implement an “all-of-the-above” training approach to close a skills gap in construction so that complex infrastructure projects can move forward quickly, safely and cost-effectively.

Bellaman said that for every $1 million dollars spent on infrastructure rebuilding, 6.7-7.1 jobs are created, potentially creating a shortfall of 600,000 to 700,000 workers on top of the 500,000 unfilled jobs in construction right now. 

In terms of paying for $1 billion of infrastructure projects, Bellaman called for a combination of public-private partnerships, matching funds with state funds and solely federal funds to address the specific requirements of different infrastructure projects that provide a variety of services. 

Recognizing the current efforts of Congress, Bellaman wants to see legislative action on an infrastructure plan soon. He said there is a great desire among cabinet officials, agency executives and business leaders to get something done. “The infrastructure opportunity for the United States of America is tremendous,” he said.

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