In mid-February 2020, a group of leading labor unions and associations – including the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), International Union of Operating Engineers, Transportation Workers Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Transportation Association, Value of Water Campaign, and American Road and Transportation Builders Association – plan to co-host a Presidential Candidate Forum to give candidates an opportunity to share what they think is needed to address the nation’s infrastructure issues.
The “Moving America Forward: a 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on Infrastructure” will be held over President’s Day Weekend, February 16-18, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"For too long, serious infrastructure policy has been left on the back burner of many candidates’ agendas,” noted AEM President Dennis Slater in a statement. “This forum will give candidates the opportunity to share what they think is needed to address our nation’s infrastructure opportunities with American voters at a critical time in the election year. We need their best ideas to help drive America towards a more modernized infrastructure that will benefit equipment manufacturers and our 1.3 million men and women, U.S. farmers, and the broader national economy.”
He added that the forum – convened by the non-profit organization United for Infrastructure – is touted as an opportunity for candidates to address the challenges facing American’s roads and transit systems, bridges and railroads, ports and airports, and water and wastewater systems, as well as lay out their vision for an infrastructure plan that supports a strong economy, job creation, consumer safety and national security.
"Infrastructure presents both an urgent challenge and a singular opportunity for the next presidential administration to address an issue that affects every American," Slater said. "It is also an issue that 90% of Americans believe should be a priority for the next administration. Infrastructure dictates access to jobs, education and health care; it can help alleviate or exacerbate rising inequality; it can help solve the affordable housing crisis; and it is key to how American’s experience climate change pressures. The forum will be an opportunity for candidates to address the challenges facing American’s roads and transit systems, bridges and railroads, ports and airports, and water and wastewater systems -- and to lay out their vision for an infrastructure plan that supports a strong economy, job creation, consumer safety and national security."
The forum is convened by United for Infrastructure, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the importance of America’s infrastructure. The forum will be open to members of the press. Contact Abigail Gardner, [email protected], for more information.
Where: University of Las Vegas, Nevada, Student Union Center, 4505 S Maryland Pkwy, Paradise, NV 89154
When: Sunday, February 16, 2020
Event begins: 2:00 PM PT
Doors for press: 12:00 PM PT
