Alabama’s federal lawmakers connect infrastructure as key to economic growth at BCA conference

Currently out for August recess, the majority of Alabama’s delegation to Washington joined state and business leaders for the Business Council of Alabama’s (BCA) annual Governmental Affairs Conference. Lawmakers offered updates and insight into a wide range of topics including the appropriations process, social media and the mental health of young Americans, creating wise regulations for name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college sports, as well as a central element to Alabama’s success in the 21st Century: Infrastructure.

In a panel moderated by Ted Hosp, Vice President of Governmental Relations for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, lawmakers were asked to share their infrastructure priorities and how the state can collaborate more closely to achieve Alabama-driven goals. 

U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) described the unique infrastructure needs of District 1 as it currently exists, particularly in Baldwin County, Alabama’s fastest growing county. He also emphasized that the enhancement of the Port of Mobile is vital to Alabama’s economy.

“We’ve got this little thing called the Bayway Bridge that we’ve had to focus on. We’re trying to improve the I-10, east and west. But then you get to Mobile, and you start looking at the port. The port is the bloodstream of Alabama — don’t ever forget that. And I told Governor Ivey, and I truly mean this. If she is remembered for nothing else in her legacy as governor, it will be for the infrastructure projects and road and bridge projects that she is supporting,” Rep. Carl said.

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“We appreciate that. So, in Mobile, we’ve got a little bit of everything in District One—a little bit of everything. So we’re excited about what we’re seeing coming out of Washington through our appropriations projects that we’ve made some announcements on. But it’s a little bit of a different mix than probably the rest of the state.”

While much of the lawmakers’ discussion dealt with the crossroads between infrastructure and economic development, other officials also lauded the infrastructure gains in Mobile.

“You look at Mobile, Huntsville – that’s the bookends of Alabama. Mobile is ‘fixing to see something special happen, I’m telling you right now,” U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) said.

“You look at the dredging that we caught a lot of heck for, I’m telling you right now, you look at what’s going on with national security when we need to repair a ship or a submarine – we shouldn’t have to go to Virginia to do it, or to go to California – I believe Mobile, Alabama is where it ought to be done. And we’re all going to be fighting to make that happen,” Strong said to a room full of applause. 

RELATED: Forbes: Alabama’s Port of Mobile is second fastest-growing in U.S.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt said it’s incredible that the widening of the Port should finish up by March-April, and should be commended for accomplishing the project on time and under budget.

“Our inland waterways is something that we also focus on,” Sen. Britt (R-Montgomery) said. “They use commerce. It’s part of national security. When we look at what happens in Demopolis, we’re not only looking at dredging, and what we need to be doing there, but we’re taking a look at our lock and dam system and saying, ‘How can we make sure that this doesn’t happen again? Where do we need to invest?’

“And so whether it’s Coffeeville or wherever we are, that’s also another infrastructure need, and that’s something that we value and we know our state does as well.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) celebrated the long-awaited Northern Beltline project funded through the Appalachian Development Highway System. He said there is still $9.7 billion left to be appropriated out of the system and Alabama gets 30% of that.

“It’ll take about 20 years,” Rep. Palmer said. “I’ll be ninety years old, but I’m planning to drive on it.”

“One of the things that I’ve told people about how we need to be looking at infrastructure is that we need to be looking 25 years down the road. I say this a lot: Smart people learn from their mistakes, but great people learn from other people’s mistakes. We can develop our infrastructure in such a way that will allow us to have the economic growth we want without us becoming Atlanta or Nashville, where their traffic congestion has really diminished the quality of life in those cities. If we want to do things the right way, we can grow our economy and maintain our quality of life,” Palmer said. 

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Selma) said it takes a team effort. She said the Alabama delegation meets together once a month to collaborate on how to drive key state priorities forward.

“Let me just start by saying that infrastructure is the basic foundation for economic development and growth,” Rep. Sewell said. “I have to say that I was very pleased to vote in favor of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which actually gave $1.4 trillion – it’s a once in a lifetime investment in our future – and the last time we spent that kind of money was Eisenhower in the development of the highway system.”

“But you know, for me, when you represent the black belt, as well as Birmingham, inner city and rural, I think that my priority has been water and sewer for the black belt. It’s been broadband for my whole district. It’s in roads and bridges. And you know when I think about the fact that over the next five years, the state of Alabama will get $5 billion from that bill for roads and bridges, million dollars our port, all of that is infrastructure. All that’s critical to the development and the growth in our area.”

U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt and Barry Moore reflected the stewardship of infrastructure dollars rely on the state lawmakers and officials who decide where to ultimately appropriate them, particularly as it relates to one-time funding mechanisms such as COVID-19 relief funds. Long before the pandemic, Alabama lawmakers centralized a focus on equipping rural parts of the state with high-speed internet.

RELATED: $53.5 million awarded for ‘Middle-Mile’ broadband service across 24 Alabama counties

“Broadband is a new infrastructure, and getting broadband to our rural parts of the state of Alabama is crucially important,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said. “I appreciate the work that State Legislature is doing, Speaker Ledbetter and Senator Reed, because leadership in the House and Senate, it takes a team effort. 

“But really getting those federal dollars were important. Back when I chaired the House [Agriculture Committee] subcommittee on appropriations, we started the ReConnect program and putting federal dollars into this to help with rural broadband – that has been a tremendous shot in the arm.”

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) said that a major vulnerability in day-to-day life for some Alabamians identified during the pandemic was, while many began working from home and students learned virtually, they needed access to high-speed internet.

“I congratulate Bill Poole and certainly the Governor, investing long term that money that gets poured into the states from Covid. A lot of states went into this temporary program, but we need to invest in long-term infrastructure. We can do broadband and sewer, water, highway, because down the road, that’s going to pay dividends for the state; that allows the U.S. economy to grow.”