White House Announces National Building Code Initiative
June 02, 2022
The most reliable way to ensure the resiliency of our nation’s infrastructure and that we are truly building back better is the widespread adoption and enforcement of modern, up-to-date building codes. ASCE was pleased to see the White House recently announce the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes, an effort to help state and local......
Movement on School Infrastructure Data Collection
May 25, 2022
The Report Card on America’s Infrastructure’s chapter on schools opens with the statement that school facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure spending, after highways, and yet there is no comprehensive national data on the condition of K-12 public school infrastructure. To develop the ASCE schools grade of a D+, engineers instead relied......
Senate EPW Committee Advances the 2022 WRDA Bill
May 05, 2022
Last Friday, the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee released S. 4137, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for 2022. The committee held a brief but collegial hearing on Wednesday where the bill was unanimously reported favorably to the Senate floor. The full Senate is expected to take up WRDA by early June, with......
Illinois Earns C- on Its 2022 Infrastructure Report Card While Making Strides on Roads and Transit
April 29, 2022
On Thursday, April 28, the Illinois Section of ASCE unveiled its 2022 Report Card for Illinois’ Infrastructure, the state’s first report card since 2018. The report assigned the state’s systems a cumulative grade of “C-”, which is on par with the national grade of “C-.” A “C-” grade means the state’s infrastructure is in mediocre......
Minnesota Civil Engineers Give the State’s Infrastructure a “C” Grade for the Second Time
April 28, 2022
On Tuesday, April 26, the Minnesota Section of ASCE unveiled its 2022 Report Card for Minnesota’s Infrastructure, the state’s first report card since 2018. The report assigned the state’s systems a cumulative grade of “C”, which is better than the national grade of “C-.” A “C” grade means the state’s infrastructure is in mediocre condition.......
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act
April 07, 2022
On Tuesday, April 5, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife held a hearing to discuss implementation of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA). DWWIA was passed by the Senate last April on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis and was ultimately signed into law in November as a......
Alabama’s Infrastructure Receives a “C-” Grade for the Second Time
March 31, 2022
On Thursday, March 31, the Alabama Section of ASCE unveiled its 2022 Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure, the state’s first report card since 2015. The report assigned the state’s systems a cumulative grade of “C-”, which is on par with the national grade of “C-“ and the same grade the state received in its 2015......
President Biden Details FY23 Budget
March 31, 2022
This week President Biden released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, which begins on October 1st. Historically, president’s budget requests offer a glimpse at the Administration’s priorities, however it will be incumbent on Congress to develop a final package over the upcoming months. Overall, the FY23 budget request totals $5.8 trillion, with $1.64......
Senate Committee Examines Transit and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
March 16, 2022
Public transportation’s advancement through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was the focus of a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on March 15th. Enacted in November, the bipartisan infrastructure law contains a whopping $91 billion for transit, including spending for development planning, State of Good Repair Grants,......
Alaska Releases New Infrastructure Grades
February 24, 2022
On Wednesday, February 23, the Alaska Section of ASCE unveiled preliminary findings from the 2021 Report Card for Alaska’s Infrastructure, the section’s first report card since 2017. The report assigned the state’s systems a cumulative grade of “C-”, which is on par with the national grade of “C-“ and the same grade the state received......