A Promising Week for Transportation Legislation
February 02, 2012
It’s been a whirlwind week in Washington, D.C. for transportation as both the House and the Senate try to build momentum to pass much-needed reauthorization bills. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unveiled their American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) on Tuesday at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol Building on an unusually warm......
An ASCE Take on the State of the Union
January 24, 2012
The President will be speaking before a Joint session of Congress and the American people tonight to discuss the State of the Union. The first State of the Union was delivered by President George Washington in January 1790 and since then has become a vehicle for a sitting President to outline his legislative agenda for......
Louisiana Section’s PR Campaign Sets a Great Example
January 20, 2012
We are repeating this post because we thought the information would also be of interest to the readers of this blog. It was first posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012 As the Louisiana Section was gearing up to release its first state Report Card this month, members realized that spreading the word of their findings......
Candidates, Citizens, and the Media Paying Greater Attention to Infrastructure …
January 13, 2012
As we start the new year, there has been an increased national focus on campaigns and elections, from the presidential race, to congressional elections and state elections. Whatever the source of news coverage, you’ve likely noticed the saturation of coverage on debates, speeches, town halls, and Sunday morning news hours that revolve......
ASCE Releases Economic Study on Nation’s Water Infrastructure
December 15, 2011
ASCE is releasing a report today identifying the long-term consequences to the nation’s economy from failing to invest today in our aging drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The report is the second in a four part series of economic studies assessing the impacts of continued underinvestment in the nation’s infrastructure systems. The report, Failure......
December 02, 2011
Since the beginning of our current economic downturn, pundits and armchair historians alike have compared the modern United States to the Roman Empire shortly before its decline. I usually change the channel or flip to the next page when I read such headlines, because to put it plainly – the US is not Rome. I......
Senate Committee is “Moving Ahead for Progress”
November 08, 2011
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released their long awaited two year surface transportation authorization bill this week. The bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21, maintains current levels of investment plus inflation for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, while making significant reforms to the current program. The full Senate......
President Continues Push for Infrastructure Investment
November 07, 2011
In 1947, the home of Francis Scott Key, author of the “Star Spangled Banner”, was set to be demolished after several unsuccessful bids to restore it by the historic community of Georgetown. The home of the poet and patriot was eventually leveled, but after many years the Francis Scott Key Bridge was erected to span......
September 26, 2011
Have you seen the new Audi ad? Check out what the folks at Foreign Policy’s Passport blog had to say about it. (And if you haven’t seen it, you can view a clip here as well.) My take on the new Audi commercial was slightly different – “Yes, let’s spend even more money on avoiding......
House approves short-term extensions
September 13, 2011
This afternoon the House of Representatives passed legislation which will extend Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and surface transportation programs at current funding levels while Congress continues to work on long-term reauthorizations. The legislation is titled, “Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011” (H.R. 2887) and will extend the current FAA authorization until January......