Financing Tools and Highway Trust Fund Included in Moving Forward Act
June 22, 2020
After last week’s marathon markup of the INVEST in America Act, House Democrats on Monday unveiled the Moving Forward Act. This legislation takes a comprehensive approach to infrastructure investment and mirrors the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card to include surface transportation, aviation, water, schools, rail, energy, and public park infrastructure investment. In addition to providing policy......
ASCE Supports Public Financing Tools to Fund Key Infrastructure Projects
January 31, 2019
This month, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), an ASCE coalition partner and lead of the Public Finance Network (PFN), released a report entitled, “Understanding Financing Options Used for Public Infrastructure.” For well over a century, state and local governments and public entities across our nation have used tax-exempt bonds as a means to provide......
New Bill Would Reinstate Advance Refunding Bonds for Infrastructure
April 16, 2018
Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) introduced H.R. 5003, a bill to reinstate advance refunding bonds, which were replead in H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. During the tax bill debate the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) opposed provisions that eliminated financing tools, including advance refunding bonds and......
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......
Public-Private Partnerships, A Tool in the Toolbox
January 23, 2018
Partnerships between public agencies – federal, state, and local – and private companies are an increasingly popular infrastructure financing policy tool. As public budgets continue to be squeezed; public-private partnerships (P3s) allow planners and policymakers more breathing room to invest. P3s can be an effective financing mechanism through tools such as municipal and private activity......
Truckers Support an Increased Motor Fuels Tax
December 11, 2017
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released an assessment of the nation’s transportation funding options, an update to its original research in 2007, to identify the best revenue sources for our transportation network. In addition to ATRI, other industry stakeholders have offered alternative revenue sourcing options. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials......
Tax Legislation Hurts Infrastructure, Engineers
November 28, 2017
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is concerned that Congress has missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the nation’s infrastructure investment gap. Earlier this month, Congress began the process of crafting tax-cut legislation. The House Ways and Means Committee drafted H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed out of committee and......
ARTBA Convenes Workshop on Funding Success Stories
July 18, 2017
States have been stepping up to better fund transportation. On July 12, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Transportation Investment Advocacy Center held its fourth Annual National Workshop for State & Local Transportation Advocates, which explored how states are getting it done. The day-long meeting featured transportation investment champions from around the country.......
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......
ASCE Members Participate in White House Summit on Infrastructure Investment
September 11, 2014
As a part of what the White House has deemed its “Year of Action” campaign to move policy ideas and initiatives forward in the face of Congressional gridlock, the Obama Administration recently held an Infrastructure Investment Summit aimed at soliciting ideas on how to better leverage available financing to deliver projects in the transportation, water,......