U.S. Congressmen Mike Rogers (R-AL-3) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11) announced in early August that they are forming the Congressional Caucus on Public-Private Partnerships, or the Congressional P3 Caucus.

The caucus aims to raise awareness of the use of P3s to address a range of transportation infrastructure issues, as state transportation departments are utilizing these partnerships to deal with smaller budgets, rising costs, and growing infrastructure needs.

Much of the discussion and legislative activity on P3s is occurring at the state level, and Rogers wants to foster a dialogue at both the Member and congressional staff level about the federal role in P3s.

Rogers' staff said they want to examine what actions the federal government has taken that work to advance P3s, and what federal barriers may still exist.

While P3s are most common in the transportation sector, the PPP caucus will also focus on other infrastructure areas, including defense, energy, technology, and water. Rogers said he and Connolly will approach other House members to be a part of the caucus while also involving public and private sector stakeholders.

The caucus will likely have a kick-off event sometime in October.

Sources: Infra Insight Blog and AASHTO