House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Passes Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill
June 19, 2020
With the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act set to expire on September 30, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up and passed the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act this week. The five-year reauthorization provides $494 billion in direct investments for our......
Senate Panel Begins Work on Transit Reauthorization Bill
February 26, 2020
In historic fashion this week, the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee heard the perspectives of national stakeholders on transit investment needs for the upcoming reauthorization of federal surface transportation programs. This was the first public hearing, other than nominations, that the Committee has held on transit infrastructure in several reauthorization cycles, and......
President Trump Proposes FY2021 Budget With $1 Trillion for Infrastructure
February 10, 2020
On the heels of his 2020 State of the Union Address, President Trump released his election-year $4.8 trillion Fiscal Year(FY) 2021 budget request. While the President’s request is nonbinding, it does provide insight on the Administration’s priorities and how it would like Congress to allocate funds. Like previous budgets unveiled by President Trump, the FY21......
House Democrats Unveil Infrastructure Framework
January 31, 2020
After much anticipation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA12), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR4), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ6), and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA1), introduced an infrastructure investment framework that would invest $760 billion over five years in our nation’s roads, bridges, transit and rail systems,......
November 21, 2019
State departments of transportation (DOT) might be able to breathe easier this weekend. Thanks to the efforts of ASCE members and government relations staff, the Society was successful in the repeal of the $7.6 billion rescission, or cancellation, of unobligated highway contract authority under the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) scheduled to take effect on July......
Senate Panel Moves on Surface Transportation Bill
July 31, 2019
Bipartisanship was in the air on Capitol Hill this week. If there’s one issue both political parties can agree on, that’s infrastructure. This was evident this week as the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee introduced, marked up, and voted out of Committee S. 2302, America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (ATIA). This legislation......
New Bipartisan Report Stresses Investing in Nation’s Infrastructure is Common Sense
May 30, 2019
Last week’s meeting between President Trump, Speaker Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, and Democratic leaders that was supposed to turn the $2 trillion infrastructure bill discussions into policy and funding proposals was interfered by politics once again. Regardless of political drama in DC, the House and Senate are going full steam ahead in introducing infrastructure......
Report Examines Mileage-Based User Fee Future
April 26, 2019
This week, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report entitled, “A Policymaker’s Guide to Road User Charges.” The report calls on Congress to develop and pass legislation directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) to establish a national Mileage-Based User Fee system (MBUF) , or a “Road User Charge” (RUC). The......
New Bridge Data Supports C+ Report Card Grade
April 03, 2019
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) released its Bridge Report based on the data in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) 2018 National Bridge Inventory database. ARTBA’s Bridge Report confirms the “C+” grade given in ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. Both reports illustrate that while the overall number of bridges deemed structurally deficient......
Senate Committee Examines Our Surface Transportation Needs
November 30, 2018
Senators returned from Thanksgiving celebrations with their family and friends last week refreshed and ready to tackle the infrastructure problems and potential solutions facing the country – starting with a committee hearing on Capitol Hill. “Addressing America’s Surface Transportation Infrastructure Needs”, a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on......