In just a few hours Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump will engage in their first presidential debate. Among the topics they are expected to discuss are their plans to strengthen our nation’s economy. In advance of their debate, MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens issued the following statement:
As Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump discuss their visions to support our nation’s economic prosperity, there will be one area that they both can agree: encouraging private infrastructure development. There is no debate that our nation’s infrastructure needs updating; and there are American companies ready to employ American skilled labor to get the job done right. But companies need regulatory certainty in order to dedicate the financial resources necessary to complete these needed massive projects.
Right now, a stretch of the Dakota Access Pipeline is in limbo because – despite being fully approved by the relevant four states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and being more than 60 percent complete – the Administration has decided to reevaluate the regulatory process. This is indeed troubling and could have a chilling effect on private infrastructure development as companies, who have followed the process correctly and done everything right, risk having their projects stopped right in the middle construction.
This is no way to run an economy.
The members of the MAIN Coalition and all Americans will be listening to both candidates tonight to see who articulates the best vision for our nation’s economy, including the best way to support necessary U.S. infrastructure development.