What does cement have to do with AI, national security, and America’s economic future? More than you might realize.
In this episode of Madam Policy, Monica Manolas and Diane Tomb of the American Cement Association (ACA) sit down with hosts Dee Martin and Ihna Varner to discuss why cement sits at the center of some of Washington’s biggest policy debates, from infrastructure investment and data center growth to domestic manufacturing. Along the way, they share personal stories about leadership, mentorship, and making history as the first women to serve in ACA’s top leadership roles.
Watch the Conversation on YouTube:
Transcript:
Dee Martin: This is Madam Policy, a podcast about women shaping policy, creating history. Hello, everyone. I’m your Madam Policy host, Dee Martin. I’m a partner here at Bracewell and the co-head of the Policy Resolution Group. I’m here with my good friend and colleague, principal at Bracewell, Ihna Varner. Ihna, welcome.
Ihna Varner: Thanks, Dee. So excited to be back.
Dee Martin: This is going to be a fun one. Ihna and I are especially excited because we get to welcome two incredible leaders from the American Cement Association today. Folks, you may know that ACA is the trade association for the industry that builds America’s future. That really does say it all. We’re also proud that ACA is a longtime Bracewell client, and it’s a true honor to represent the association and its members.
First, I’m going to welcome Monica Manolas. Monica is the chair of the American Cement Association and the chief revenue officer of CRH Americas Cementitious Materials. Monica is the first woman to chair ACA in its 109-year history. Talk about women making history. Monica, we are so glad to have you on Madam Policy. Welcome.
Monica Manolas: Thank you so much, Dee.
Dee Martin: And Diane, we are also delighted to welcome Diane Tomb, president and CEO of the American Cement Association. Diane brings decades of experience in government, public policy, and association leadership. Diane, welcome to Madam Policy.
Diane Tomb: Thanks, Dee. Looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun.
Dee Martin: Monica, we’re going to start with the age-old question, now that it is fall: What did you do with your summer? Here’s where I want to begin with you. I want to highlight the work you did over the summer for the ACA Fly-In, where you had the opportunity to interview U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The two of you talked about the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, which is Build America 250. I want you to tell us what that legislation would mean for the cement industry and for the members of ACA. Why is it one of your top priorities?
Monica Manolas: Thank you so much, Dee. You hit the nail on the head. It is our highest priority at the moment. When you think of a country and you visit it for the first time, how do you describe it? How do you get a sense of where you are and the civilization you’ve entered? It’s through its infrastructure. America’s infrastructure is what has made us great. So the surface transportation reauthorization is very important to ACA and to all of our member companies. We make the cement that makes the concrete that makes the world. It’s a top priority for us, but it’s a top priority for every American.
This is an incredibly busy year, and we’re working on a lot of things. We wanted to make it very clear on Capitol Hill that cement is critically essential in so many ways for America and for our communities, from infrastructure to national security, and also to allow Americans to lead safe, productive lives. The Build America 250 Act is a huge part of getting there. It is our surface transportation reauthorization.
The current form of the bill, which sits in the House, is a bipartisan $580 billion bill. It will go a long way toward maintaining and funding the roads, the highways, the bridges, which are in incredible need of revitalization, and the transit and rail programs. As I mentioned, $45 billion of it would go solely to bridge maintenance and construction. That is the largest amount dedicated to America’s 600,000 bridges in U.S. history.
The bill could also give the Highway Trust Fund its first new stream of revenue for infrastructure in more than 30 years. The Highway Trust Fund is funded by the gas tax. It’s a favorite topic that everybody talks about when gas prices go high, but it is the only way we’re able to fund infrastructure at the moment. So bringing in new revenue streams is vitally important as well.
The bill also includes language on permitting reform, which the American Cement Association is all for. I want to say the current version of the bill is a huge credit to the work done by Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen, who worked with us at ACA to draft it. They moved it swiftly through committee back in May, and, as I mentioned, in a really bipartisan way. The way they’ve worked together for America is so commendable.
On August 8, the Senate moved to continue short-term funding through a resolution, just until December 11. It’s concerning to us that we haven’t passed the bill yet. We had hoped to get it passed by September 30, the original date for reauthorization. That date passed, and now we have a continuing resolution. We really hope we don’t keep having these short-term extensions. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t help. When you talk about departments of transportation and all the contractors, builders, and everybody who wants to keep America growing, short-term bills do not make big projects. We need a long-term funding source that gives local governments, municipalities, and state governments the confidence to move forward with the big projects needed to keep up with America’s growth.
We desperately need this bill. Lapsed funding and delays would be really expensive, and they would stifle America’s future. We’re really hoping Congress takes this up. It’s a huge priority for us. Bottom line, it’s what all Americans want.
Dee Martin: Monica, thank you for that. There’s a lot wrapped up in what’s happening with the Build America 250 Act. Part of what I’m hearing from you is that certainty is one of the key issues here, and we’re going to talk about that in a little bit. But I want to go to Diane and ask more about what you’re expecting as Washington turns toward 2027. We may or may not be continuing to work on the Build America Act, depending on what happens by December 11. What other policy decisions matter most to America’s cement manufacturers, and how is ACA going to work to shape them?
Diane Tomb: Thanks, Dee. As Monica said, Build America will remain a top priority. What I was going to talk about here today is that the American Affordability and Jobs Act is just as important. Of course, like most legislation, they’re very much connected in many ways.
As you know, permitting is a huge issue for our industry. Almost every construction project requires cement, and too few projects are built on schedule. The permitting process takes too long, and it invites endless litigation. This bill sets firm deadlines for environmental reviews. It modernizes the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act. It puts reasonable limits on legal challenges and ensures that a permit, once issued, can actually be relied on. Those seem like they should be natural things that happen, but unfortunately they aren’t.
As you mentioned, and as Monica made clear, certainty is what cement manufacturers and the builders we supply need in order to invest, hire, and build. Every month of delay raises the cost of projects, and taxpayers and families pay for it. This bill will shorten that path from, and I love this saying, “plan to pour,” while keeping the environmental protections our communities expect.
Dee Martin: It is a bipartisan effort. We’ve been working on permitting reform for a while now, so I think there is a lot of hope that it can get done this year, maybe even in the lame duck, but certainly going into 2027. There are a lot of strategic decisions that need to be made, and people are working on those. I’ll let Ihna jump in here. I know I’ve been talking to everybody, Ihna.
Ihna Varner: No, it’s great. It’s really fascinating to hear what you identified, Diane, as common themes between these two pieces of legislation, beyond the fact that they’re bipartisan. I hope that carries us to a productive point in policymaking.
To take a step back, Monica, when you became chair, you called this an inflection point for the cement industry. I’m really curious: What’s changing, and why does this moment feel different from, say, five or ten years ago? You’ve been in this industry for a while, so I really appreciate your perspective here.
Monica Manolas: Ihna, thank you so much for asking this question. It’s really exciting to talk about something new and different in an industry as old and stodgy as cement. I like to say the first time I walked into a cement plant, more than 30 years ago, was just like the last time I walked into a cement plant. They don’t change very quickly. However, things are changing, and we are at an inflection point.
I mentioned it before: In today’s world, cement and the concrete made from it are an essential part of society. They keep human beings safe and able to thrive. But resources are finite, and nothing lasts forever. The things cement is made from have to change and become more renewable, or we’re going to run out. We are having to figure out ways to make cement from recycled, renewable materials. The industry has always been very adept at finding different ways of using materials that are byproducts from other industries, but that is becoming more and more essential. It also means trying new things, which engineers don’t always love to do. They have something tried and true, as robust and dependable as cement, and they want it the same way every day. So we’re trying new technology and new innovation for something as old as civilization. The Roman Colosseum was literally made from cement and concrete.
It means we are at an inflection point. We all have to move and work together. In the last five years, things have changed. We’ve tried new and different things, novel products, new ways of doing it, alternative fuels, and alternative raw materials. It has changed more in the last five years than it did in the previous 95 years. So it is truly an inflection point, and it’s exciting to be at the helm.
Dee Martin: When we think about this evolving landscape, your world has evolved, and so has ACA. As I mentioned at the outset, you are the first woman chair of ACA in its more than 100-year history. What do you hope will define your tenure as chair? It sounds like you’re moving on the innovation front, but maybe I’m wrong. Tell us.
Monica Manolas: No, absolutely. Part of it is that we are America’s cement manufacturers, and that’s a very privileged place to be. To manufacture something within the 50 states that is used to build society is something we want to preserve. Being able to increase our capacity through new and novel technologies, so we can produce more of the cement Americans use, is something I would like to be a huge part of my tenure. That means increasing our ability to self-supply what is a critical material, something every American needs.
I remember a long time ago in my career, I sat down with one of the former prime ministers of Haiti. He told me, “I would really like to build a cement plant in Haiti, because if a country can’t make its own cement, is it really a country?” That’s how I feel about where we as America’s cement manufacturers need to stay. We need to keep that manufacturing capability, the ability to self-supply cement to Americans, and to grow our capacity. That is one of the main things I would like my tenure to be about.
Dee Martin: Monica and Diane, I have a follow-up question. I know the importance of cement from a critical infrastructure perspective and from a building and manufacturing perspective, because I’ve had the pleasure of working with you for years. But do you think the average American recognizes that the cement industry is really the backbone of the United States? It’s a curiosity, and we see this with a lot of folks in the manufacturing space, but I think cement is a bit taken for granted. What do you think?
Diane Tomb: Monica, I’m going to…
Monica Manolas: I’m going to let Diane answer because she’s new to the industry, so she has a great perspective on it.
Dee Martin: I will turn this question to Diane.
Diane Tomb: Thank you. As a new person in this industry, absolutely. Yes, I do think cement is taken for granted. As I step into this new role, I’m constantly having the conversation. Monica did it really well this morning: Cement is used in concrete, which then builds everything. I’ve learned to be adept at that. At least people are recognizing the role we play, but I don’t think it’s enough.
One of the things that really attracted me to this role is the opportunity to tell its story. We have such an amazing story to tell. The people in this industry are people who build. They’re passionate about what they do. They’re thinking about the future and how to use all these new alternative fuels and the different resources available to them, and to do it in a way that complements their communities. It’s such an exciting time, as this administration and the folks on Capitol Hill are focused on reindustrialization. We’re right at the center of that, but it’s also much bigger than that. It’s exciting to see how the industry is evolving with technology and the different faces who are becoming part of it. Honestly, everybody gets it once you have that conversation. When you look around and point things out, that’s one of the most exciting parts.
Ihna Varner: That’s been one of my favorite parts of working with you and your team. A lot of the issues we see in other industries that are more top of mind for people are happening in the cement industry, and at times even more pronounced. You really can’t take a step in D.C. without touching cement. [Unclear in the source: “interacting, touching some men, and call great.”] It really needs to be more of a conversation in discussions about policymaking, so I really appreciate the work you both are doing.
Diane, as you mentioned, you’re relatively new to this industry. I also want to celebrate your historic leadership. You’re the first woman to lead ACA as president and CEO. Congratulations.
Diane Tomb: Thank you.
Ihna Varner: Your career has spanned government, public affairs, and association leadership. What drew you to this opportunity and made you want to take the helm at ACA?
Diane Tomb: First and foremost, I’m incredibly thankful and proud to have this opportunity to lead this industry and be its voice, because there’s so much that needs to be done. Thank you, Monica, for that. We’ve hit the ground running with everything we have going on, which for me is probably just as important.
If I look back on my career, the one thread that runs through it is always working at the intersection of business and public policy and giving those industries a voice. As we know, it can be really noisy in Washington. There are a lot of conflicting things, but being able to simplify that and raise folks’ visibility across different industries is really vital. In terms of who we are and what we do, there’s a huge opportunity as our industry evolves, because there are so many different pieces to it. There are definitely some challenges out there, but the role we play in strengthening domestic manufacturing makes this a really exciting time to be in this industry.
Dee Martin: You’re strengthening domestic manufacturing, and that is wonderful. You’re contributing so much. But one thing, Diane, I wanted to talk to you about is that in a previous career, you worked with the FBI to combat real estate fraud. We represent the FBI Agents Association, so I do a lot of work in the national security space. Your description of cement and its importance to national security really piqued my interest. Tell us a little more about the role cement plays in national security.
Diane Tomb: Absolutely. But first I have to share something ironic. In my previous role, we got connected with the FBI because I was doing a podcast, not unlike this one, with AARP. We were talking about how seniors were being targeted. That’s the power of what we’re doing here today, and how those kinds of partnerships happen.
I appreciate you asking that question and giving me the opportunity to share that. I’d like to say cement is a strategic asset. Without cement, how can we build our infrastructure? How can we make sure we have the plants that are able to produce the cement to build the military installations, the homes, all of those things? We really underestimate, because we haven’t talked about it at a high level, the role cement plays across the board in every single industry. As Monica said, being a critical material in this industry is real. It’s really valuable for our country, and we need to make sure we get the recognition and are able to produce what our country needs.
That’s another big issue. All this permitting and infrastructure and other issues will help us. Right now, we produce 80 percent of the cement needed in the U.S. We need to be able to build these plants and expand our operations so we can provide what our country needs.
Dee Martin: On that note, I want to talk about other expansion. Monica, I’m going to go to you on this. In June of 2025, ACA issued a report that says AI doesn’t happen without cement. You projected that the U.S. will need nearly one million metric tons of cement to build data centers through 2028. We talk a lot about data centers on this show. What does the data center boom mean for the cement industry? And, as Diane was just touching on, can domestic manufacturers keep pace?
Monica Manolas: Dee, thank you so much for that hot potato.
Dee Martin: Why you? It’s definitely a hot topic of debate.
Monica Manolas: A lot of people have a lot of opinions, but I think all of us realize AI is here to stay. It’s very interesting for us because concrete is the best material to construct an AI data center. You need it. It’s fire resistant. It provides the thermal stability and the reliable structural integrity you need to protect that kind of technology.
ACA’s market intelligence department just developed some new statistics on this. Data center construction spending is accelerating even faster than before and has grown 73 percent over the past 12 months. U.S. spending on data center construction is now at $85 billion annually. That’s the same amount spent on hotels, hospitals, schools, and church construction combined.
Dee Martin: Combined?
Monica Manolas: Yes. AI needs cement to grow, and we do need to keep pace. As an industry, we’re going to have to watch and see where this all unfolds, but we’re excited for the opportunity.
Dee Martin: We just had on Secretary Susan Bourgeois, the Louisiana Economic Development Secretary. They’ve just brought in Meta. They’ve just brought in SpaceX. Diane, to your point, I think of cement, SpaceX, security. Monica, to your point, the Meta data center in Louisiana: Those projects don’t happen without cement, and they’re enormous projects. Thank you for talking about data centers. I’m sure we’ll have more on that.
Ihna Varner: What I’ve loved about what we’ve talked about is that Monica started by talking about the Roman Colosseum, and…
[NOTE] [Transcript gap: the source file skips from here to the middle of a statement about infrastructure legacy. The speaker is not identifiable from the file.]
[Speaker unclear, likely Monica Manolas]: …it does cost a lot of money, but it is the only lasting impact that we all have. When you look at the legacy of the 1930s and ’40s, when America built its roadways during the Great Depression, and after World War II, it was all the bridges and the jobs they brought, but also the infrastructure they brought. I cannot implore enough how important surface transportation reauthorization is. Our country’s future depends on it.
Dee Martin: Great. Diane, do you have different thoughts, or do you concur?
Diane Tomb: I concur. (Labeled “Speaker 2” in the source; context suggests Diane.)
Dee Martin: Ditto.
Ihna Varner: I do really appreciate it. I’ve worked with ACA for almost four years now, going before lawmakers and other associations and organizations throughout D.C. You two have done a fantastic job of putting not just faces to the issue, but communities. We’re not talking about singular people. This is the thread that holds our community and civilization together. Not to be sappy, but it has been inspirational to hear your perspectives on that.
Diane Tomb: I’d add one thing, because, being new in this role, when you meet with any member or an administration official, everybody agrees it’s a bipartisan issue that people can get their arms around. The more you talk about it, the more they realize how important it is. I also want to recognize the team here at ACA. I know Monica has worked with them for a long time. They’re really outstanding, people who are passionate about what they do. They do their homework. They show up. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everybody here because of what they bring every day.
Ihna Varner: That’s really great. I agree on the strength of, and the passion within, that team. It’s really been a pleasure to work with you all over the past few years.
Thinking through your career trajectories, you both have held jobs that spanned different roles and sectors. Was there a challenge or opportunity that felt like a stretch at the time, and how did it change the way you think about leadership? I’m also thinking about this in the context of our policy discussions about cement. Permitting reform just last year felt like a big stretch, and yet here we are with a bipartisan proposal to solve a really critical issue for the industry and the country. I’m curious what you have in mind from your careers.
Monica Manolas: I’ll let Diane go.
Diane Tomb: Okay. The one I thought was an interesting dynamic: I was working at Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance company. I always tell people that with these opportunities, I get tapped on the shoulder. The new administration was coming in, and someone reached out to ask whether I would want a Senate-confirmed position at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. For anybody who knows anything about Fannie Mae, most people don’t go from Fannie Mae to HUD. It just doesn’t work that way. Even when I decided to move forward and they were doing my background check, they said, “This is unusual. Most people want to leave HUD and go to Fannie Mae. How does that work?”
But I saw it as a unique opportunity in my career. At that time I had two small children, and I was always very thoughtful about how I could make an impact in my job. If I’m going to work, I want to make sure I’m doing something worthwhile and important, and I want to be able to do that while also managing being a mom and doing all those things. It was a risk. When I sat down with then-Secretary Mel Martinez, I was very upfront with him. I went into the interview and said, “Look, I have two kids. Here’s what I can do. I can’t travel 80 percent of the time. These are all the things I can bring.” I thought, “I’m not going to get this job, but at least I made my point.” And he said, “Great. I love that. I like to go home to have lunch with my kid.”
So it was a huge risk. In hindsight, I think I was sort of naive, but it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. From that, I went into housing and ended up here. That’s how those things work. He’s still a great mentor of mine. Having people who are able to balance what is going on while also getting things done is really valuable.
Dee Martin: Having the confidence to say, “Here’s what I can do, and here’s what I am not able to do right now,” is a very important lesson for all of us. We all lean toward “Yes, I can do all of it, everything, you name it, I can do it.” So that’s a very important lesson. Thank you. Monica, what about you?
Monica Manolas: Now you know why I wanted Diane to go first. I love listening to her stories. If you ever have time to sit down with Diane, she’s lived a million lives of leadership. She’s an amazing woman.
Diane Tomb: I’m sort of like Forrest Gump.
Dee Martin: Forrest Gump.
Monica Manolas: For myself, it actually takes me back to ACA, ironically enough. I’m a child of immigrants, which brings its own amount of aspiration, for the generation to come and your parents’ hopes and dreams. I was a STEM kid. I started working in a field around science, engineering, and the cement industry. I remember I was sent on one of my very first business trips to ACA, which at that time was headquartered in Chicago, for a technical training class. Being a child of immigrants, of course, I did great in this class. It was a microscopy class. A shout-out to Don Campbell, who was a longtime member, staff member, and professor at ACA. He watched me in the class, and he told me my microscopy skills were amazing. But he also said, “Have you thought about taking a leadership role? I see you as a natural leader.”
This blew my mind. Believe it or not, in my early twenties, in the nineties, you would have thought somebody would have had a discussion with a young woman about leadership. It had not even occurred to me. I thought I was going to be an individual contributor in a science role. He gave me the courage to apply for the leadership job. It was my very first job, just a laboratory supervisor, and it felt like a huge stretch to be responsible for other people’s lives. Then I found out leadership is even more fun than STEM. It really did change the entire path of my career.
Dee Martin: Here’s to Don Campbell. We often get asked on this show, “Can men be mentors too?” I had a program at one time called Minute Mentoring with Dana Perino. She and I were doing it together, and we always had amazing women mentors. But we always got asked, “Can men be mentors too?” I think absolutely, yes. For the same reason that women should be such an important part of the workforce, we each make up roughly 50 percent of the population. Don’t bench somebody because of their gender. So I always have strong male role models and female role models. Thank you for sharing that. And yay, Don Campbell.
Listen, we’ve taken so much of your time, but we really do appreciate it. We’re going to end our show today by asking you the same question we ask every guest, and we have over 150 shows, so this will be fun. What advice would today’s you, Monica and Diane, give to your 24-year-old self? Who wants to start? I can go alphabetically by first name or last name, or you can just jump in.
Monica Manolas: I’ll jump in.
Dee Martin: Okay, Monica.
Monica Manolas: First of all, I love this question. I want to listen to all 250 answers. And I love the age, 24, because it’s right at that moment when you’re just figuring out who you are.
Dee Martin: Let me tell you this. Twenty-four was, for me personally, just a change. I had just become an adult. I still think I’m 24, and I’m not sure I’m an adult, but whatever. Anyway, go ahead.
Monica Manolas: I would love to talk to her, first of all, and tell her how proud I am of her. What I would tell her, if I only had a moment, is: Breathe. Take a pause. You don’t have to have all the answers. Just ask the right questions.
Diane Tomb: I like that.
Dee Martin: That’s so hard. Back to Diane’s confidence: Be confident enough to ask the question. I have a question for you. When Don Campbell said you ought to take on leadership, did you pause, or did you just say, “Yeah, I can do that”?
Monica Manolas: Honestly, my mind was blown. I thought, “Me, a leader?” It was a huge stretch. It was daunting, much more daunting than any calculus equation I had ever had until that moment.
Dee Martin: I don’t know about that. Come on now. I am a lawyer. But that is incredible. You two have the confidence of someone who can say, “Sounds like a stretch, but I’ll give it a shot.” That is, as Ihna said earlier…
Monica Manolas: I did.
Dee Martin: Inspiration. Diane, what about you? What would you tell that 24-year-old self?
Diane Tomb: First, I have to say I was a poli sci major, Monica, so the whole calculus thing didn’t happen, thank God. Second, I have three children, two of them girls. One is 27 right now, and my youngest is 22. I think back to where they are today and where I was. It’s such a different time, and they’ve been exposed to so many opportunities.
For me as a 24-year-old, it was really about finding my own voice and being willing to ask the different question, to say something that not everybody else was saying, and to earn my place by asking the questions nobody else would ask. I wasn’t afraid to do that. And, Monica, ironically, coming back to what you said, my parents were both immigrants. My dad started his own business. He brought me to work with him every day. We were taught to show up, ask questions, figure it out, and keep working. So today, believing in yourself and being willing to take the risk is what I would say to my 24-year-old self. I try to do that for my girls too.
Dee Martin: That’s amazing. Both of you have made it very clear why you are history makers and trailblazers. You were the first woman to chair, and the first to serve as president and CEO of, the American Cement Association. You are true leaders and trailblazers. Thank you for being on today. We really appreciate it. This podcast was recorded in the studios of the Policy Resolution Group, Washington, D.C.