House Members Launching Bipartisan P3 Caucus

Two House members are developing a bipartisan Congressional caucus focused on infrastructure and the growing use of public-private partnerships.

The group, called the Congressional Caucus on Public-Private Partnerships, is being led by Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va. The Committee on House Administration approved the caucus on July 22, and Rogers and Connolly plan to recruit colleagues to join the group.

The caucus hopes to raise awareness of infrastructure issues and P3s across the country. The group will examine the federal government’s role in P3s and is interested in hearing ideas from stakeholders from the public and private sectors, according to Connolly’s and Rogers’ offices.

“We have an enormous backlog of infrastructure needs all across our country, but the federal government simply can’t fund them all. Nor should Congress raise taxes,” Rogers said in a news release. “Building and maintaining infrastructure is an issue for both rural and urban areas, and I hope this caucus will help advance the debate in Washington and across the country.”

Rogers previously served as a state legislature and county commissioner. He witnessed the government partnering with the private sector at military instillations in his East Alabama district.

Before coming to Congress, Connolly served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including five years as the board’s chairman. During his time on the board, he worked on several P3s, including one for express lanes on I-495.

“It is time we turn our attention back to the critical business of fixing America’s roads and bridges and putting our nation back to work,” Connolly said in the release. “The longer we wait, the more costs increase to repair crumbling infrastructure. Public-private partnerships have worked in Virginia and in many other places around our nation to repair infrastructure and add capacity.”

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