When the American Society of Civil Engineers released its “Report Card” on America's infrastructure in September, Associated General Contractors of America CEO Stephen Sandherr commented: “What this report card concludes and what AGC has been educating Congress about for years is that major investments are needed in the nation's infrastructure.” According to the ASCE 2003 Progress Report for America's Infrastructure, little progress has been made since the organization's 2001 report, which rated 12 infrastructure categories at a discouraging D+ overall and estimated the need for a $1.3 trillion investment to bring conditions to acceptable levels. The current estimated cost has increased to $1.6 trillion. AGC joins with ASCE in calling for Congress to increase the nation's investment in America.

“We can't have a first-class economy without a first-class infrastructure. Building and maintaining safe and efficient roadways, sufficient energy distribution and providing for our nation's drinking water and wastewater needs must be a national priority,” Sandherr affirms. In meeting these goals, the construction industry does not just build and maintain our nation's infrastructure, he added: “It provides real jobs, with real wages, and builds our quality of life. In other words, Construction = Jobs = Growth.”

Federal investment in America's infrastructure benefits the entire economy. For example, for every billion dollars in federal highway investment 47,500 jobs are created. Overall, the construction industry provides 6.8 million jobs. In addition, the value of construction put in place for the year 2002 was over $860 billion or about 8 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.