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AEM pleased with infrastructure plan and talks

A leader with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers says the organization is pleased there are serious discussions about making significant investments in the nation’s infrastructure.

Kip Eideberg is the senior vice president for government and industry relations.

“The fact that the President and Vice President met with Congressional leaders for almost two hours in the White House yesterday, shows that both sides are serious about getting an agreement done this year,” he says.

President Biden has been in talks with Republican senators about his $2 trillion infrastructure plan.  

Eideberg tells Brownfield he’s cautiously optimistic an agreement can be met.

“We are still a ways off before I think we will see a bill moving through the House and Senate and it remains to be seen what the funding levels that will be included will look like and what the scope is going to look like,” he says.  

He says the ag, rural, and manufacturing communities can expect investments in rural broadband.  

“If you look at what the President has proposed, if you look at where the consensus is between Democrats and Republicans, I think broadband more than anything else is where a lot of your listeners in rural America are going to see a lot of benefits once this bill is finally passed and signed into law,” he says.

Eideberg says it’s a fitting conversation to have during infrastructure week.

“We’ve had infrastructure week after infrastructure week in D.C. with lots of big promises and not a lot happening,” he says. “I think it’s different this time around because of the tone from the President as well as Congressional leaders, both Democrats and Republicans. I think both sides recognize that they have to demonstrate to the American people that they can deliver on some of the promises that were made during the election. While they’re going to disagree about the definition of infrastructure and how much to spend and how to pay for it, it is fundamentally something they all support.”

The infrastructure plan includes investments in roads, bridges, waterways, ports, dams, and broadband.

Audio: Kip Eideberg

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