Blog

Chairman Boxer Holds Press Conference on Highway Trust Fund

July 26, 2013By: ASCE Staff

Thursday morning, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer held a press conference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZoGpdW2jlo#t=15m27s) with members of the transportation and infrastructure community to highlight the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Rob Victor, Chairman of ASCE’s Committee for America’s Infrastructure, spoke along with Senator Boxer and other industry representatives about the......

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Can-Do States Who Tackle Infrastructure Are Just What the U.S. Economy Needs

July 24, 2013By: ASCE Staff

Sometimes you just have to do it yourself. That’s the message some states seem to be sending as federal infrastructure bills like the Water Resources Development Act keep getting sidelined by Congress or only seeing short-term efforts like the MAP-21 Transportation Reauthorization. The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings has called these states that have decidedly......

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Tags: career development, congress, economics, infrastructure, transportation

Highway Trust Fund: Running on Empty

July 23, 2013By: ASCE Staff

…..Tuesday morning, the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit met to discuss the status of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and the effects its impending insolvency would have on transportation projects nationwide. As it stands, the HTF receives almost 90% of its revenue from taxes on motor fuels. As CAFE standards increase the number of......

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Tags: gas tax, highway trust fund, infrastructure, transportation

Mexico Ramps Up Infrastructure Investment Over the Next 5 Years

July 18, 2013By: ASCE Staff

This week Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced an initiative to fund $300 billion dollars (4 trillion pesos) worth of infrastructure projects through 2018. The money will be used to extend highways, revitalize and extend both passenger and freight rail, and upgrade ports in Mexico to increase capacity and efficiency of handling. “Nobody can doubt......

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Tags: infrastructure report card, rail transportation, surface transportation, water infrastructure

Mr. Civil Engineer Goes to Washington

July 17, 2013By: ASCE Staff

Happy 4th of July, America!  Baseball’s All-Star break is this week.  These and more serve as reminders that we have reached the “mid-point” of the summer.  Are your summer advocacy plans in place? If you are an ASCE member, you should start your advocacy plan by signing up for the next Key Contact Briefing Conference......

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Tags: congress, infrastructure, infrastructure report card, state report cards

House Approves Bill to Fund Corps of Engineers in FY 2014

July 15, 2013By: ASCE Staff

The House approved a bill late last Wednesday that would fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works programs for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill, (H.R. 2609), calls for spending a total of $4.899 billion for Civil Works for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2013.  It includes $1.573 billion for construction, $23 million......

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Rough Time for State Activity

July 12, 2013By: ASCE Staff

It’s been a rough couple weeks in state capitols for infrastructure advocates as four states – Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington – are struggling to enact major transportation funding proposals. Particularly disappointing is that in each state seems so close to the finish line. In Texas, the high profile filibuster over abortion legislation during a......

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Tags: infrastructure, transportation

Electrical Transmission 101

July 11, 2013By: ASCE Staff

…..On Tuesday, electrical transmission and distribution experts gathered for what they termed “Electric Transmission 101”. Emphasized in the presentations were the system limitations faced by our electrical grid, as well as issues regarding generation, transmission, and supply. Currently, our electrical grid is lacking in many areas. It is inadequate to connect rich sources of renewable......

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U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Water Council Is Looking For Every Drop

July 03, 2013By: ASCE Staff

We joined the US Conference of Mayors last week to promote our 2013 Report Card, and being in sunny, dry Las Vegas, water was top of mind for many of the mayors in attendance. Besides being confident that their water is the best tasting in the nation, mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Water......

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Tags: water infrastructure

45 Cities Join to Launch Resilient Communities for America Initiative

July 02, 2013By: ASCE Staff

Last week, the National Press Club hosted the launch of the Resilient Communities for America campaign. Forty-five mayors and county leaders have signed the agreement, pledging to invest to make towns and communities more resilient in the wake of increasingly severe weather. Mayors of many prominent cities such as Denver, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Sacramento,......

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Tags: water infrastructure