April 11, 2019 America’s Crumbling Infrastructure

New Poll: Voters say rebuilding America's roads, bridges, water systems a top priority.

April 10, 2019

Washington, D.C. – Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) President Scott Paul and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) hosted a press call on a new poll that explores how likely voters from both parties prioritize infrastructure investment compared to other popular issues, and gauges whether they prioritize domestic procurement policies (i.e. Buy America provisions) in these investments.

The Mellman Group and Public Opinion Strategies conducted the poll from March 20 to 28, 2019, from a sample of 1,200 likely Democratic and Republican voters. Michael Bloomfield of The Mellman Group and Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies also joined Wednesday’s call.

Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:

“Our bridges are crumbling; our roads are sinking; and our water systems are toxic. The need for rebuilding America is all around us, and voters demand action now. The president has boasted about trillions for infrastructure but hasn’t delivered. Meanwhile, Congress has been too slow to respond. Voters rightfully don’t feel anyone in Washington has paid a great deal of attention to their top priority. Voters also make it clear that infrastructure investment must support American workers, jobs and suppliers. Our elected officials owe Americans the commitment that their hard-earned tax dollars will benefit their communities, not foreign state-owned companies or suppliers.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) added:

“I strongly believe American workers should build our infrastructure with America products, and taxpayers’ money should not be spent to support foreign workers. Bot parties should be able to find common ground on this common sense, Buy America promise to our workers and manufacturers.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) quoted:

“This isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue, it’s an American jobs issue. I’ve been trying to fix our broken Buy American laws for years because, like many Americans, I believe we should be spending our tax dollars on American-made goods for our national defense, and to repair our infrastructure. It’s a winning issue for everyone.”

BACKGROUND: The Mellman Group-Public Opinion Strategies poll found that 80 percent of likely voters support Buy America provisions, while 55 percent strongly support those provisions. Meanwhile, 83 percent of Democratic likely voters rank infrastructure investment using American workers and products as the top priority, tied with moving to clean energy to address climate change and providing health coverage for all. Eighty-four percent of Republican likely voters rank infrastructure investment using American workers and products as the top priority, tied with tighten border security and enforcement of immigration.

To find the full results of the poll, please follow this link.

Learn more about President Donald Trump’s lack of action on infrastructure investment, despite his rhetoric supporting it, in this opinion piece by AAM President Scott Paul, published in The Hill on Monday, Apr. 8, 2019.

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