AEM leaders optimistic about a 2021 infrastructure bill

AEM leaders are more confident about the prospect of passing a federal infrastructure bill this year than they were in 2020. Photo: Art Wager/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) leaders visited virtually with the press Thursday, outlining their priorities for the year ahead while sharing their expectations for the incoming Biden administration.

AEM leaders see an opportunity for bipartisanship to prevail once the new administration is situated. And one specific bipartisan opportunity they see on the horizon is infrastructure.

“I feel a heck of a lot more confident this year than I did in the past,” says Dennis Slater, president of AEM, when asked about the prospect of passing a federal infrastructure bill in 2021.

Steven Berglund, executive chairman of Trimble who serves AEM as chair, is also more optimistic about an infrastructure bill passing this year because of indications President-elect Biden made regarding working across the aisle.

“It goes without saying all of us are hungry to see more bipartisanship,” Berglund says. “I think President-elect Biden, from everything I hear, is looking for more and more of that.”

Robert Crain, senior vice president and general manager of North America at AGCO Corp. who serves AEM as vice chair, offered a similar sentiment on the prospect of infrastructure legislation.

“Unlike prior years, one party has both houses of Congress, as well as the presidency,” Crain says. “There is less opportunity for early dissension on this one, so the probabilities have got to be greater than they have been for some time.”