Three New Energy Reports Released
February 24, 2020
A suite of new energy innovation and sustainable energy development reports have recently been released. The Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, published in partnership by BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, provides updates on industry information and trends for the U.S. energy economy. It reports that while overall greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7%......
Infrastructure & Science Funding Bills Move Through House Committees
May 24, 2019
The House Appropriations Committee was hard at work addressing infrastructure and science education this week, which is perfect timing after last week’s nation-wide Infrastructure Week push. The committee passed bills to set aside funding for a number of infrastructure categories including water, energy, and national parks, while the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development......
House Panel Examines Federal Energy Management
December 13, 2018
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy recently held a hearing entitled, “Public Private Partnerships (P3s) for Federal Energy Management.” Committee members discussed the current status, challenges, and opportunities for increasing energy efficiency savings and conservation in federal facilities and programs, which would be done through the primary U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)......
Minnesota Earns a “C” in First Infrastructure Report Card
October 10, 2018
On Tuesday, October 9, civil engineers gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol for the release of the first-ever Report Card for Minnesota’s Infrastructure. The Report Card gave the state’s infrastructure an overall GPA of “C” and evaluated and graded nine individual infrastructure categories: aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, ports, roads, transit, and wastewater.......
Power Outage Complicates Summer Air Travel at Reagan Airport
August 17, 2018
When we plug our phones into the wall we expect them to start charging, and when we flip a light switch we expect the lights to go on. Most of the time, these systems work just fine, but this week, travelers at Washington’s Reagan National Airport sat for 90 minutes with no power, while others......
Congressman Curbelo Introduces Bill to Tax Carbon
July 24, 2018
Earlier this week, Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) introduced H.R. 6463, the Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kick-start the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion Act, or the “MARKET CHOICE Act.” This bill would amend the tax code to add tax equal to $24 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), with......
Congress Tackles FY2019 Budget
April 13, 2018
This week, Congress had a busy schedule of hearings on the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 agency-by-agency budget requests. The House Committee on Appropriations held 19 hearings this week, while the Senate Committee on Appropriations held five hearings. Administration officials from across the federal agencies testified at hearings on the President’s FY19 budget request, including at those for......
Senate Democrats Release New Infrastructure Plan
March 07, 2018
This week, the Senate Democratic Caucus unveiled their own new jobs and infrastructure plan in response to President Trump’s Infrastructure Principles released in early February. Under the Senate Democrats jobs and infrastructure plan, there would be a $1 trillion federal investment to modernize our deteriorating infrastructure. ASCE President Kristina Swallow released a statement, highlighting that......
President Trump Releases Much Anticipated Infrastructure Plan
February 12, 2018
The Trump Administration has officially released an infrastructure proposal calling for $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments, with $200 billion of direct federal spending over the course of 10 years. The federal investment is meant to spur investments from state and local governments and private investors. The proposal is divided into four main parts: funding and......
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......