ASA’s Shelia Ohrenberg Testifies at House Small Business Committee’s Infrastructure Hearing

On Thursday, June 10, 2021, Shelia Ohrenberg, a long-standing ASA member, President of the Sorella Group based in Kansas City, KS, and President of the Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE), testified at the House Small Business Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee Hearing entitled “Utilization of Small Contractors in the Infrastructure Plan.”  The hearing focused on the importance of infrastructure investment and how it will promote contracting opportunities for small businesses, who will play a central role in upgrading the nation’s infrastructure. The hearing provided Committee Members the opportunity to learn more where contractual opportunities lie as well as the resources small businesses need to undertake infrastructure projects.   Per Shelia’s testimony, “maintaining and modernizing infrastructure is essential to any business. Infrastructure investment is critical for small business owners like me. An infusion of federal infrastructure projects means work and creating jobs and growing the business.  Maintaining and building infrastructure expands access for business, enhances business operations, creates demand, and is vital to growth.  Construction work means being on the road – road congestion leads to wasted fuel, lost productivity and more pollution. For WCOE members working on transit systems or highway construction or almost any project, delays mean higher costs and then the scope of the project is cut down or curtailed indefinitely.”  We extend Shelia our sincere congratulations for testifying on this important topic to the subcontractor construction community.