Input Stories

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) is a leading advocate of infrastructure investment in Congress. As part of the NAM’s national “Building to Win” campaign—championing infrastructure investment, permitting reform and surface transportation reauthorization, among other priorities—the NAM spoke to Sen. Cramer about his vision for infrastructure policymaking. Here’s what he had to say.

Why infrastructure matters: “Interstate commerce is dependent on a functioning transportation network. … [W]e must make the investments necessary to move goods safely and efficiently from one side of the country to another,” said Sen. Cramer, who is on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

• “We need to also maintain a strong emphasis on cutting red tape, permitting reform and flexibility. Our reauthorization bill should also prioritize providing funding to states through a set formula, so money is not just funneled to population hubs,” he added. “It’s an approach I worked hard to maintain under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and must continue.”
• “If we streamline projects and eliminate duplicative permitting and other requirements in the Federal-Aid Highway Program, we’re saving taxpayer dollars and giving people higher quality infrastructure more quickly. If we create a better infrastructure baseline, the benefits start compounding through the entire federal system.”

The transportation bill: “Governments should provide a consistent framework where the private sector can create economic growth and jobs,” said Sen. Cramer. “This consistency is even more important for infrastructure projects, which often cost billions of dollars and span multiple years.”

• “Without the certainty of a multiyear reauthorization, states and locals won’t develop and execute new infrastructure projects, and they will also struggle to maintain the existing systems and supply chains.”

Infrastructure in North Dakota: “Whether it’s transmission lines, pipelines, roads or bridges, infrastructure is the difference maker when it comes to turning raw material into economic growth and prosperity,” said Sen. Cramer.

• “It is a force multiplier for economic activity. In addition to having a significant manufacturing sector, North Dakota produces more energy and agriculture products than we consume, so the state of our infrastructure determines how quickly and efficiently our business owners can get their products to market.”

Why the NAM matters: Sen. Cramer emphasized that the NAM has an essential role to play in educating policymakers about infrastructure investment, as it’s doing in the “Building to Win” campaign.

• “An organization like the NAM can fill in pieces of the puzzle not everyone sees about manufacturing in America,” he said. The NAM “can educate about how the wheat from North Dakota becomes pasta in New York and help build the case about why a member of Congress who might otherwise not care about an agriculture issue should support some of the exciting ag or energy projects we are working on in North Dakota.”

Read the whole thing: You can find the full Q&A here.