ASCE: household, family savings from infrastructure investments
May 13, 2024
New ASCE economic study shows that American families and businesses save money if Congress, states, and the private sector continue recent investments....
ASCE Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
November 16, 2023
ASCE celebrates the two-year anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL is the largest-ever investment in our nation’s built environment, providing $1.2 trillion towards all 17 categories of infrastructure outlined in ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. The IIJA represents a significant down payment on......
House Republicans debut energy and permitting reform package
March 23, 2023
Last week, House Republicans formally introduced the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1). This comprehensive legislative package is aimed at increasing American energy production and enacting permitting reform to reduce regulatory burdens associated with the development of infrastructure projects. By designing the Lower Energy Costs Act as H.R. 1, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has signaled......
Lame-Duck Look Ahead: Energy Permitting Reform Bill
October 13, 2022
In early August, it was announced that Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) had reached a deal with Congressional leaders to take up energy infrastructure permitting reform legislation. This deal was made in exchange for his support of the climate change and clean energy reconciliation package known as the Inflation Reduction......
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Holds Hearing On Grid Resilience
February 17, 2022
On Tuesday, February 15 the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled “Keeping the Lights On: Strategies for Grid Resilience and Reliability”. The focus of this hearing was investments and policies in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve grid resilience, and to discuss future investments and policy needs. While......
House Committees Move Forward With Reconciliation Legislation
September 16, 2021
This month, the House of Representatives began the process of writing their proposed $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package following passage of a budget resolution in August. Along with of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the reconciliation package marks a critical step in President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda. Unlike the bipartisan......
Hurricane Ida Wreaks Havoc, but Louisiana’s Levees Hold Firm
September 02, 2021
Throughout New Orleans, Louisiana, residents are still beset with remnants of Hurricane Katrina 16 years after it made landfall, breaching New Orleans’ levees and ultimately devastating communities, leading to 1,800 deaths. On the 16th anniversary of the tragic storm, the very same region was besieged by Hurricane Ida, which reached winds of 150 miles per......
Five points on grid modernization as we build a more resilient future
April 19, 2021
Guest Post By Ruth Gratzke, President of Siemens Smart Infrastructure I recently came across some startling numbers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about the frequency of major weather and climate disasters in the U.S. We’ve experienced 291 events with damages or costs of at least $1 billion since 1980. And their recurrence doesn’t......
Now is the Time for Strong Infrastructure Investment
March 08, 2021
Guest Post by John Barton, PE, Senior Vice President, HNTB We can do better Infrastructure investment is needed now. Clearly the last 15 months have taught us the urgency of why now is the time. The lack of spending on infrastructure has been devasting. Blackouts in Texas. Wildfires in California, Oregon and Colorado. The alphabetical......
The Hidden Infrastructure Tax We’re All Paying: New Economic Study
January 12, 2021
Think about what you can do with an extra $3,300 a year. Narrow that down to $275 each month—a typical car payment. Simplify that number a little more to $63 dollars a week – takeout for a family a four once a week (we’re all doing a lot of that these days). This amount of......