Industry associations react to presidential election

Biden

Leaders from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) and Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) offered their congratulations to Joe Biden for being elected the 46th president of the United States.

The three associations also make clear they are ready to work with Biden’s administration to further the interests of their members.

“Equipment manufacturers congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his election as the 46th president of the United States,” says Dennis Slater, president of AEM. “We also congratulate Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on her historic accomplishment as the first woman to be elected vice president of the United States. The American people have spoken, and democracy has won. It is now time to put aside our differences and work across the political spectrum to find common ground.”

Brian McGuire, president and CEO of AED, also congratulated Biden for prevailing. In addition to working with the Biden administration, AED looks to find common ground with the 117th Congress to enact AED’s pro-growth, job-creating policy agenda.

“The country can’t afford more gridlock and inaction,” McGuire says. “Democrats and Republicans must come together to provide long-overdue investments to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, maintain a capital investment incentivizing tax code and develop the next generation of skilled workers. The future prosperity of the United States hangs in the balance, and AED members are ready to play a vital role in ensuring a robust and sustained recovery. We are hopeful that our elected leaders will focus on these critical issues, and refrain from the partisan games.”

AGC is prepared to work with the newly elected officials, as well.

“We are ready to work with the incoming administration and Congress to help craft an agenda that is focused in rebuilding infrastructure and reviving the national economy,” says Stephen Sandherr, CEO of AGC. “To that end, we are eager to work with the president-elect as he and his team fashion their promised infrastructure investment proposals. In addition, we look forward to working with federal officials to craft a new, long-term highway and transit law, enact liability reform that protects honest firms from frivolous coronavirus lawsuits and pass other tax and credit measures that will stimulate economic growth and demand for construction.”

In addition, AGC aims to educate the incoming administration and Congress about regulations that burden its members.

“We are also ready to work with the incoming administration and Congress to ensure they understand that imposing needless new regulatory burdens and undermining the integrity of the current collective bargaining process in the construction industry will severely undermine efforts to revive our economy and efforts to expand career opportunities in the construction industry,” Sandherr says.