Washington, DC (November 15, 2021) — The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), the leader in promoting quality and excellence in the sheet metal and air conditioning industry, today announced its support for the long awaited and historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The $1.2 trillion deal cleared the U.S. Senate in August and the House of Representatives in November.
With a commitment to workforce development and overall industry growth, SMACNA has been a vocal supporter of investing in our nation’s infrastructure. Vince Sandusky, SMACNA’s Chief Executive Officer, provided the below statement in response to President Biden signing the bipartisan bill today.
“America’s leading construction contractors and their skilled workforce know infrastructure is a vitally important investment that should be built to last. We are elated that a bipartisan vote in Congress passed, and the President signed a top priority of the skilled construction industry firms and the voters nationwide. Everywhere one looks, our communities face growing lists of urgently overdue infrastructure projects – including retrofitting existing public buildings, constructing needed new facilities, upgrading transportation networks, water systems, and broadband capabilities – and our contractors and highly skilled and trained workforces stand ready to the challenge. We have long awaited both the renewed federal policy commitment and the financial support advanced in this bipartisan legislation.
We greatly appreciate that Congress and President Biden worked many months together to answer the call of the vast majority of the nation’s citizens and businesses to make historic investments to strengthen, build, protect, and maintain the infrastructure that keeps Americans moving. Local governments and highly talented contractors employing skilled apprentices and craftspeople are waiting and ready to get to work. For more than two decades, SMACNA and its contractor allies have called on Congress to invest in our nation’s infrastructure. With this new law, federal leadership has delivered for our contractors, our workforce, and the communities where they work and live. We applaud President Biden’s signing this bill into law.”
Of the legislation’s $1.2 trillion total, $550 billion represents new federal investments in America’s infrastructure and will add an estimated two million jobs per year to the national economy as well as vastly improve the energy efficiency of our nation’s building, energy, and transportation systems.
ABOUT SMACNA:
SMACNA is an international trade association representing 3,500 contributing contractor firms and is a leader in promoting quality and excellence in the sheet metal and air conditioning industry. SMACNA members are responsible for effectively delivering the clean air Americans breathe in offices, homes, and hospitals; for many of the attractive facades you see on today’s stadiums and office buildings; and for the comfortable, healthy, and safe living environments in which our citizens live out their daily lives. SMACNA has national offices in Chantilly, Va., outside of Washington, D.C., and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.SMACNA.org.
Media Contact:
Meagan Dominick
Vault Communications
773-369-4255
mdominick@vaultcommunications.com
