SCHUMER AND GILLIBRAND STATEMENT ON DOT’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF LOCAL HIRE PILOT PROGRAM FOR HIGHWAY AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released the following joint statement regarding the U.S. Department of Transportation heeding the senators’ calls and implementing a local hire program for highway and other infrastructure projects:

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand said, “As Central New York rebuilds from the COVID pandemic and embarks on a generational opportunity to transform I-81 through the city of Syracuse, it is critical that the federal government allows state and local governments to invest in good-paying jobs with a focus on local residents, especially from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. These programs enable New York State and Syracuse to work with labor unions and community leaders to ensure job opportunities on federally funded transportation projects – including I-81’s transformation in Syracuse – are available for local residents.”

The senators continued, “We are pleased that USDOT heeded our calls to reestablish these programs, but believe this should be a bridge to a permanent policy in which USDOT replaces the regulation that currently impedes the use of geographic preferences with a new regulation that incentivizes targeted hiring across its infrastructure investment programs to benefit local contractors and workers, including women, veterans and minority-owned business.”

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