Surprise… infrastructure talks hit a snag

It is somewhat hard to believe, at least sometimes, that good ideas and plans end up in the trash can.

In this case, the good ideas and plans are the momentum we have, or had, in recent weeks, was the momentum building up for a new national infrastructure plan. Well, fast forwarding a few weeks later, it now looks more and more like we may once again be witnessing the interminable game of political football, or simply just kicking the can down thew road…again.

Remember, in late June, the White House’s announced that a bipartisan framework had been established for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure authorization. And while there were scant details coming out of the White House, the New York Times reported that this deal will focus on traditional infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, tunnels, rail, and broadband, while leaving out parts of the more widely encompassing package, to the tune of around $2.3 trillion, proposed by the White House earlier this year. The report said that this new bipartisan plan would include some existing infrastructure programs and also allocate $579 billion in new money over eight years to “patch cracking highways, rebuild crumbling infrastructure, speed rail traffic, and more equitably spread high-speed internet access.”

Other notable aspects of the plan cited in the report include: investing billions into waterways and coastlines washing away due to rising sea levels; and $7.5 billion into 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

This was viewed as good news, make that really good news, in that maybe, just maybe, a viable plan was actually coming together. I wrote in this space, at the time, that this development had brought about a feeling of cautious optimism.

But given all of the political acrimony, infighting, and other forms of general dysfunction we have seen, especially in recent years, it does not come as a surprise that there are now reports that prospects of getting a deal done are back to languishing. And that is really unfortunate.

In short, the current outlook for a new infrastructure authorization is not as rosy as it once was just a few weeks back—and that is not good, especially when taking into account that Congress will kick off its summer recess (deserved or not…) very soon. While an agreement was believed to be close, we are now again left wondering what the next steps will be. Again, not good.  

In a sense, one can make the case that we were not warned that this political stalling, of sorts, could be in the cards.

And, to be sure, there are myriad reasons for it, with funding and how to pay for a new authorization, leading the list by miles. Modal- and supply chain-related considerations are sure to be factored in as well, given the attention supply chain and logistics have received going back to the outset of the pandemic.

So, what happens now? That is unclear and is anyone’s guess. This situation is not going away, at all. And, remember, as freight transportation, supply chain, and logistics stakeholders, the bill for getting a new authorization is way past due. Congress can only negotiate and go on recess for so long. We need action now.