Congress Passes COVID-19 Relief Package
March 10, 2021
This week Congress passed the American Rescue Plan – a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package which provides critical relief across the economy and our nation’s infrastructure. This legislation is President Biden’s first legislative victory and the third round of federal COVID-19 relief. Following the budget reconciliation process the original version of the relief package passed......
ASCE 2021 Infrastructure Report Card Gives U.S. ‘C-‘ Grade
March 04, 2021
The American Society of Civil Engineers unveiled their 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure on Wednesday, March 3. The nation earned a ‘C-’, up from 2017’s cumulative GPA of ‘D+’. This is the first time since ASCE began issuing the report card that the nation’s infrastructure has received a GPA outside of the D range.......
Congress Moves on COVID-19 Relief Through Budget Reconciliation Process
February 11, 2021
Before taking the oath of office, President Biden announced an extensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic known as the American Rescue Plan – a $1.9 trillion package directed to provide relief amid pandemic impacts. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a Congressional budget blueprint that would......
Texas Civil Engineers Give the State’s Infrastructure a “C” Grade
February 10, 2021
On Wednesday, the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released preliminary findings – including grades – from its 2021 Texas Infrastructure Report Card, the Section’s first report card since 2017. Texas civil engineers gave 12 categories of infrastructure an overall grade of “C”, an upgrade from its 2017 grade of “C-.”......
Radhika Fox, US Water Alliance CEO and ASCE Partner Joins EPA Office of Water
January 22, 2021
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week announced the selection of US Water Alliance CEO Radhika Fox as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water. ASCE applauds this choice as she has been a leader in sustainable water infrastructure advocacy, particularly when it comes to innovation, equity, and inclusion. Fox has been an......
Biden Administration Moves Swiftly on Key Infrastructure Positions
January 22, 2021
On the heels of President Biden’s inauguration, infrastructure-related agencies across the federal government already had key nominations put forth. While more nominations will be announced in the coming weeks, the Biden Administration announced the following nominations: President Biden nominated former Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Ms. Polly......
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......
ASCE Legislative Victory: STORM Act Signed Into Law
January 04, 2021
In a positive start to 2021, and just a few short weeks following a joint press conference held by ASCE, the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President Trump signed into law the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act (S. 3418) on January 1; both the House......
ASCE Legislative Victory: Passage of WRDA 2020
December 21, 2020
Today, Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 – a major legislative victory for ASCE! The House and Senate passed WRDA 2020 with bipartisan support as a part of the massive end of the year appropriations and stimulus package. Throughout 2020, ASCE members and staff advocated for improvement in all 16 infrastructure......
ASCE Congratulates Mayor Pete Buttigieg on DOT Nomination
December 15, 2020
The following statement comes from ASCE Executive Director Tom Smith: We applaud President-elect Biden’s nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the incoming Secretary of the Department of Transportation. We are eager to work with DOT and incoming Secretary Buttigieg to modernize our nation’s transportation systems and to make sustainable infrastructure a central component of our......