Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Transportation Spending Bill
July 28, 2017
The Senate Committee on Appropriations passed a bill yesterday to fund the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 2018 (which according to the federal calendar begins October 1). The bill funds the Department of Transportation (DOT) at $79.6 billion for FY18 (a $1.5 billion increase from FY17). That total is $1.1......
Rural Transportation Facing a Rough Road
June 30, 2017
This week, TRIP, a national transportation research group, released a new report, Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland. With the nation’s roads as a whole receiving a “D” grade in ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, the condition of rural roads is a major contributing factor to the low grade. TRIP’s new report outlines......
Majority of House Signs Letter Asking to Fix the Highway Trust Fund
June 13, 2017
Yesterday 253 congressmen sent a letter to the leadership of the House Ways & Means Committee asking that a long-term fix for Highway Trust Fund be included in their tax reform efforts. “As the Committee on Ways and Means continues to work toward a much-needed update of the U.S. tax code, you have an opportunity......
Sens. Hoeven and Wyden Reintroduce Move America Act
June 05, 2017
Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently re-introduced their Move America Act to expand the availability of tax-exempt bonds and create a new tax credit, bringing more private capital into infrastructure and giving states more flexibility to pursue infrastructure projects. The legislation creates Move America Bonds, expanding private activity bonds, which encourage private......
Legislation to Create National Infrastructure Bank Reintroduced
June 02, 2017
Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), along with seven other bipartisan cosponsors, recently introduced S. 1168 – BRIDGE Act to establish a national infrastructure bank to give state and local governments another tool in the toolbox for financing infrastructure projects. The bank would help state and local governments better leverage private funds to......
Infrastructure Week: Time to Build
May 15, 2017
The fifth annual Infrastructure Week is underway. More than 100 events are being held around the country this week, with the goal of elevating infrastructure as a critical issue impacting all Americans. Things kicked off Monday morning with an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, featuring Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Los Angeles Mayor Eric......
A Chance to Fix the Highway Trust Fund
May 01, 2017
President Donald Trump gave the idea of raising the federal gas tax a boost today, saying in an interview with Bloomberg News that raising the tax to fund infrastructure is “something that I would certainly consider.” So far this Congress, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) has introduced legislation to raise the federal gas tax, while fellow......
Louisiana Report Card Gives Infrastructure a “D+”
April 26, 2017
The Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released the 2017 Report Card for Louisiana Infrastructure on April 26. To assign grades, 50 volunteer civil engineers from across the state analyzed 11 categories of infrastructure over 18 months. Scores ranged from a “C+” for Dams and Solid Waste to a “D-” in Drinking......
Welcome to the New InfrastructureReportCard.org
March 09, 2017
In conjunction with the release of the 2017 grades, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is relaunching InfrastructureReportCard.org. We invite you to explore all the new site has to offer, including an overview of the 16 infrastructure categories and ASCE’s solutions for how to raise the national grade. The site showcases the 2017 Report......
Infrastructure in the News: No Rest for Weary Infrastructure
February 17, 2017
Romantic dates, the Grammy awards and celebrating black history are not the only milestones of this week; the Oroville dam crisis in California and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)’s 2017 national bridge report are drawing equal media attention. The recent Oroville dam crisis in California, captured by sources like National Geographic, Los......