United for Infrastructure Week of Events
May 05, 2021
United for Infrastructure 2021 will take place May 10-14, featuring a series of virtual events around the country elevating infrastructure as an issue impacting all Americans. The programming is especially timely as Congress debates how to move forward on investing in infrastructure to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ASCE is a steering......
Strategic Investment Tactics for Infrastructure Improvement
April 27, 2021
Guest Post by Maria Lehman, National Infrastructure Lead, U.S. at GHD ASCE’s government relations program is about making a societal difference. Through advocacy and relevant reporting, we capture the imagination of Mayors, Governors, Congress and even Presidents. Congress has indicated it’s serious about providing significant new funding for infrastructure and emphasized it’s a bipartisan issue.......
The Endless Frontier Act – A Dramatic Boost for Research and Development
April 22, 2021
On Wednesday, April 21, the U.S. Senate introduced a bipartisan bill — the Endless Frontier Act — that would increase American investments in science and technology innovation with the goal of strengthening the economy and competing worldwide. The effort is led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN), and would,......
Dams and Levees: The Check Engine Light is On
April 15, 2021
Guest Blog Post by Del Shannon, PE, M.ASCE The grades are in again, and to those of us who care and worry and fret about our country’s infrastructure it’s easy to wince as we scroll through the letters. Mostly C’s and D’s with a couple of B’s, but not an A in sight. The overall......
ASCE Lends Expertise to Policy Recommendations on Improving State Disaster Response
April 13, 2021
The National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Public Private Partnership on Disaster Mitigation and Recovery published a series of policy recommendations this month. The partnership, of which ASCE belongs, was convened in response to the devastating 2017 disaster season and is comprised of state legislators, staff, and private sector partners. The report, “Natural Disaster State......
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......
President Biden Takes Office and Infrastructure Takes Center Stage
January 21, 2021
Yesterday, President Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, ushering in a new Administration which has indicated that infrastructure will be a key priority. Shortly after taking office, President Biden issued a series of Executive Orders (EOs), with additional EOs expected in the upcoming weeks. Immediate actions have been aimed......
Civil Engineers Give West Virginia’s Infrastructure a “D” in 2020 Report Card
December 03, 2020
On Wednesday, the West Virginia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2020 Report Card for West Virginia’s Infrastructure, the Section’s inaugural report card. West Virginia civil engineers gave five categories of infrastructure an overall grade of a ‘D,’ meaning the state’s infrastructure is in poor condition, with many elements approaching......
November 24, 2020
*Kevin Longley, Alexa Lopez, and Maria Matthews contributed to this blog As 2020 comes to a close, ASCE Government Relations is thankful for its wonderful community of 150,000 members who work diligently to ensure the safety, efficiency, and modernization of our nation’s roads, bridges, drinking and wastewater systems, utilities, and more every day. The work......
April 22, 2020
This week, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee has released a draft of their bipartisan WRDA 2020 bill, entitled America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2020, which keeps Congress on track with the biennium WRDA reauthorization schedule. This bill authorizes $17 billion in infrastructure projects and reauthorizes the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund......