This Week in Infrastructure: Highway Trust Fund Gets Media Attention
April 18, 2014
On a typical day, a Google news search for the Highway Trust Fund over the past 24 hours results in a page or two of results. But this week Wednesday, the search query garnered nine pages of hits, and the option to “explore in depth” 166 articles. What did these articles say? And why does......
This Week in Infrastructure: Reasons to Keep Advocating for Investment
April 11, 2014
The Opinion Pages of The New York Times presented a series of reasons “We Should Be in a Rage” and among them were—you guessed it—because of the state of our nation’s infrastructure. These grievances, along with suggestions and productive dialogue to change it, appeared in print across the country this week. In Mississippi, one writer......
Congress Looks to Learn Lessons from Canada’s P3 Experience
April 10, 2014
This week the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee looked to our northern neighbor Canada for advice on the federal role for public-private partnerships (P3) holding a panel hearing on the International Experience with Public-Private Partnerships, chaired by U.S. Rep. John Duncan (R-TN). Experts from the Canadian financing market were brought in to share their perspective......
This Week in Infrastructure: What is the State of Our Union, Really?
February 02, 2014
The Super Bowl (or the first mass-transit bowl as we like to call it) wasn’t the only required TV viewing this week . The State of the Union drew more than 33 million viewers listening to President Obama’s agenda for the country. Here at ASCE, we were pleased that President Obama laid out goals of......
Bipartisan Governors Coalition Presses Congress to Act on Transportation Funding
January 31, 2014
This week, 17 Governors signed a letter urging congressional members to act to find a long-term revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund and avoid a potential nationwide transportation funding crisis. The Highway Trust Fund, the funding mechanism that drives our nation’s investment in transportation infrastructure, is facing its fifth revenue shortfall since 2008. Motor......
Statement on President Obama’s State of the Union from the American Society of Civil Engineers
January 28, 2014
Washington, D.C. — The following is a statement from Randall S. Over, P.E., president of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), regarding President Obama’s 5th State of the Union address this evening: “Tonight, President Obama reminded us all that ‘America does not stand still.’ Regrettably, for too long, the same cannot be said of......
The Countdown Begins – Our Federal Funding for Transportation May Run Dry Next Year
December 18, 2013
Transportation is a key issue in 2014 as the Highway Trust Fund will be insolvent by 2015 and MAP-21 is set to expire in September. In some states, transportation projects are already being put on hold because of the uncertainty of future federal funding. The UPDATE Act introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is just......
House Freight Panel Comes Out With New Report
October 30, 2013
The Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation, established by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in April to examine the current state of freight transportation in the United States and how improving freight transportation can strengthen the U.S. economy, released its final report and recommendations yesterday. The special panel, led by Chairman John Duncan Jr. (R-TN)......
October 17, 2013
We have a deal! Finally, after 16 days, the federal government shutdown is over and things can get back to normal: Americans can once again visit all our National Parks, government workers can be assured of receiving paychecks, etc. However, it will likely take some time for everything to get back to normal, including lawmakers’......
How Has the Shutdown Affected You?
October 11, 2013
Due to the inability of Congress to pass a budget by October 1st, the federal government has been shutdown for 11 days and counting. With negotiations inching forward slowly we need your help! In order to resolve the impasse in Congress ASCE is looking for real life stories about how the shutdown has affected civil......