GMA fall Lobby Day

GMA’s fall Lobby Day marked the end of an excellent year of meetings on Capitol Hill, 22 with the U.S. Senate and 31 with the U.S. House of Representatives. In recent years, Congress has advocated for geosynthetics in major legislation, such as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), the Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation (WIIN) Act and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. GMA members discussed these bills with Congress and are monitoring their implementation.

During the fall Lobby Day visits on Oct. 25, 2017, tax reform and infrastructure were on everyone’s mind. Members in both chambers of Congress were mindful that a trillion-dollar infrastructure package could not be realized without money to pay for it. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle seemed hopeful that money could be freed up to pay for much-needed infrastructure improvements around the country. Congress and GMA members also spoke about building up the Highway Trust Fund through such means as a gasoline tax or user fees, and passing a well-funded Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bill.

Geosynthetics continues to be viewed favorably on Capitol Hill, and our members do an excellent job educating Congress on the many benefits of geosynthetics.