A safe, well-maintained, adequately funded infrastructure system throughout Pennsylvania is vital to the health and growth of its economy and the surrounding region. The Commonwealth’s network of ports, waterways, airports, rails, pipelines and transit services are the multimodal components necessary for the movement of goods, people, and services throughout Pennsylvania’s transportation system. In addition, the Commonwealth’s network of water, wastewater, stormwater, gas, electric, telecommunications, and broadband infrastructure is necessary to protect public health, power our economy, enhance our local communities, and allow for the safe, reliable flow of information and ideas. Together, these networks provide access to growth and opportunity and can serve as a platform to establish Pennsylvania as a leader in innovation.
As the state invests revenues from federal infrastructure funding as well as revenues raised in state, the PA Chamber supports efforts that will reduce regulatory burdens and the time and resources needed to navigate government, as well as eliminate unnecessary costs that impede the ability of the public and private sectors to work together in improving these essential infrastructure networks.
Airports
Airports located in cities across the state connect Pennsylvania’s people and economy to the global economy, with many airports offering international connections. In addition to safely moving people to their business and leisure destinations, airports allow for hundreds of thousands of tons of goods to be shipped quickly and efficiently across Pennsylvania and the world. Airports also serve as central hubs for economic development in their local communities. Whether international or a local airfield, all of Pennsylvania’s airports help drive the local economy, generate billions of dollars in economic benefits, and serve as economic engines to their surrounding communities, creating more than $23 billion per year in economic activity for Pennsylvania. The PA Chamber supports well-planned, cost-efficient publicprivate partnerships to provide various means of transportation, including rapid transit, to airports and key transportation terminals.
Ports
Pennsylvania’s three major ports (located in Erie, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia) are situated to take advantage of the state’s waterways and other surface infrastructure, including rail, road, and air, to serve local, state, regional, and international markets’ ever-increasing shipping, transportation, and logistics demands. Pennsylvania’s ports must be ready to compete domestically and abroad, particularly in light of on-going realignments in global supply chains. The PA Chamber supports efforts to obtain the highest return on investment in ports already made by the Commonwealth with multimodal funding, including policies that provide investment in maintenance, upgrades, and improvements necessary to be internationally recognized ports.
Railways
Pennsylvania is fifth in the nation in total track mileage, and the state leads the nation in the number of operating railroads. Rail helps move more than 170 million tons of cargo in and out of Pennsylvania safely and affordably, allowing manufacturing in Pennsylvania to thrive. The PA Chamber supports efforts to more efficiently improve rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania and opposes efforts to impose state regulations on railroads that are more stringent than federal requirements. The PA Chamber also supports the development of nationally designated high-speed corridors that serve Pennsylvania in a balanced manner that does not inhibit the movement of cargo via rail freight.
Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater
A safe and reliable network of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure is essential for public health and economic development. The PA Chamber supports an adequately funded system of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. It supports efforts for state and local governments to work together and with private industry in an innovative manner to reduce system costs. To improve the health, safety, and economic development in the Commonwealth, the PA Chamber also supports the following initiatives: removing legislative and regulatory barriers that impede private investment in the Commonwealth’s aged water and wastewater systems; streamlining the permitting and construction of projects to replace infrastructure; encouraging consolidation and regionalization of water, wastewater and stormwater systems were cost-effective and beneficial to ratepayers; and encouraging public-private partnerships between government and private industry.
Electric and Gas
A safe and reliable network of transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas is vital to both public health and a vibrant economy. The PA Chamber supports a well-maintained grid of powerlines and gas pipelines that allows energy produced in Pennsylvania to reach markets and for Pennsylvania businesses and consumers to benefit through the deployment of innovative technologies, including resiliency projects, energy storage projects including battery, pump, and green hydrogen, the development of energy battery storage projects, distributed energy resources including microgrids and renewable solutions, and finally the development of alternative fueled vehicles such as electric, hydrogen and compressed natural gas-fueled fleets take advantage of it. Policies supporting these investments will also help Pennsylvania attract, retain, and expand businesses with access to a resilient, sustainable, and lowercost energy. The PA Chamber opposes unnecessary regulatory hurdles and costs and supports the urgent need to streamline the permitting and construction of these vital projects. The PA Chamber also supports regulatory constructs encouraging the expansion of gas distribution systems to unserved and underserved areas.
Telecommunications & Broadband
Well-maintained telecommunications infrastructure, including wired, wireless, and broadband, is crucial to an economy that is increasingly reliant on the secure and efficient transfer of data over a diverse array of networks. The PA Chamber supports efforts that reduce the regulatory burden on broadband and telecommunications networks and that do not impose regulatory burdens on wireless networks and VOIP services beyond existing federal requirements. The PA Chamber supports the development and implementation of small cell technology, which supports advanced network and data relay technology such as the most advanced wireless and broadband technology to reduce data network congestion The PA Chamber supports robust funding for better access to and adoption of broadband in underserved areas. The PA Chamber also supports innovative public-private partnerships between state and local governments and private industry to allow companies to harness public infrastructure to improve the delivery of data, cell, and other broadband services.
Revised by the Policy Committee. Approved by the Board of Directors on May 3, 2022