congress | 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure

Senate Passes WRDA

May 15th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

ASCE applauds the Senate today for passing the Water Resources Development Act (S. 601). The 83 – 14 vote on final passage caps off a huge bipartisan effort from Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA). The final $12 billion package includes several of ASCE top priorities for WRDA such as the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program, the creation of a National Levee Safety Program, the eventual move toward trust in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, and reforms to accelerate project review and delivery. With Senate passage, attention now turns to the House, where things are moving at a slower pace. Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has said his committee hopes to produce a bill by “summer-ish”, while some Republican aides have said that the committee hopes to take action in June on a WRDA package. For now ASCE is pleased to see that WRDA is out of the Senate and urges the House to not be too far behind.

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Draft Bill Would Change Long Established Peer Review For NSF Research

May 13th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

Draft legislation is being circulated by new House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) which would require all research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to be certified to “advance the national health, prosperity, or welfare” and “secure the national defense” of the United States. The NSF must certify that each funded project is of “the finest quality, is groundbreaking, and answers questions or solves problems that are of utmost importance to society of large.”

House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The draft legislation has drawn a vigorous response from the scientific committee. A letter to Smith from six former NSF Directors stated, “ We believe that this draft legislation would replace the current merit-based system used to evaluate research and education proposals with a cumbersome and unrealistic certification process that rather than improving the quality of research would do just the opposite. The history of science and technology has shown that truly basic research often yields breakthroughs – including new technologies, markets and jobs – but that it is impossible to predict which projects (and which fields) will do that. Progress in science requires freedom to explore important questions regardless of where the answers may lead. Over the years, federal funding of basic research, using peer review evaluation, has led to vast improvements in health care, national security, and economic development.” The draft also drew a sharp response from Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) the top Democrat on the Committee. In a letter to Smith, Johnson called the draft legislation “the first step on a path that would destroy the merit-based review process at NSF and intrudes political pressure into what is widely viewed as the most effective and creative process for awarding research funds in the world. It is this process that has supported the growth of the American research university system, and it is this process that has established the American research enterprise as innovation of our age.” ASCE has joined with other scientific and engineering organizations in a letter to Smith urging him to withdraw the proposed legislation. A copy of the current draft of the legislation is here.

Tags: congress, national science foundation, stem
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WRDA on Senate Floor…Call Your Senator Today!

May 8th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) has reached center stage in the Senate this week, with votes beginning on amendments at 2pm today. The legislation provides much needed improvements to locks, dams, levees, and other waterway elements across the country through the authorization of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs. The first hurdle for the bill, a vote on cloture, proved moot when Senators were able to provide unanimous consent to see the legislation move forward for debate Monday night. The reason for agreement was a manager’s amendment that Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA) put out, resolving some areas of concern that Senators had already voiced. One of the biggest changes in the manger’s amendment ensures revenues collected into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) are used for intended purposes by gradually increasing the authorization level for the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) spending until an authorization level equivalent to full use is achieved in 2020. The guarantee for full HMT revenue use, included in the Committee-passed bill, was removed due to the Appropriations Committee’s objection. The manager’s amendment continues to cite that the increased appropriations cannot be achieved if funding is reduced in other areas of the Corps budget, but the point of order related to this provision was also removed. For FY 2014, the appropriation would be $1 billion, with an additional $100,000 provided each fiscal year thereafter. If this agreement is included in the final bill, it would result in a 14-15% increase in funds for FY 2014. At this time ASCE asks Key Contacts to call their Senators and urge them to support WRDA. ASCE has been an advocate of the legislation and is pleased with several aspects of the bill including: the creation of a National Levee Safety Program, the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program, the restoration of trust in the the HMTF, and efforts to streamline the project delivery process. Currently it looks like the bill will come up for a final vote next week, so Senators need to hear from their constituents NOW.

Tags: congress, dams, ports
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Senate to Take Up Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)

May 6th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Senate is expected to take up the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) when Senators return to Washington today. At this time, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said that he will hold a cloture vote on the legislation Monday evening. Cloture requires 60 votes and limits debate in order to block an attempt at a filibuster. ASCE strongly urges the Senate to take up and pass S.601, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013. ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure graded the nation’s ports a “C”, inland waterways a “D-”, dams a “D”, and levees a “D-”. Our nation’s water resources infrastructure is critical to our economy, public safety, and the preservation and enhancement of our environmental resources. In fact, ASCE’s Failure to Act economic study on the nation’s marine ports and inland waterways shows that underinvesting in just these two sectors threatens more than 1 million U.S. jobs and $270 billion in U.S. exports by 2020. The current Senate bill makes a strong commitment to our nation’s critical water resources infrastructure and ASCE strongly supports language that:

Creates a National Levee Safety Program;
Reauthorizes the National Dam Safety Program;
Restores trust to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund;
Creates a new Water Infrastructure Finance Innovations Authority (WIFIA); and
Streamlines the project approval process for water resources projects.

During debate ASCE urges the Senate to consider a nine cent increase in the user fee for the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF). The IWTF, which was created in 1978, now funds half the cost of new construction and major rehabilitation of the inland waterway infrastructure. Increasing the user fee on the inland waterways system from 20 cents per gallon to 29 cents is long overdue and will allow for an increase in overall spending on the system. ASCE Key Contacts should reach out to their Senators and urge them to support WRDA when it reaches the Senate floor.

Tags: congress, dams, infrastructure, ports, senate, water resources development act
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Obama’s FY 2014 Priorities STEM Education Programs

April 19th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

The President’s FY 2014 budget request places new emphasis on STEM (Science-Technology- Education-Mathematics) education. The total STEM education funding request, across all federals agencies, amounts to $3.1 billion; this represents an increase of 6.7 percent over 2012 funding levels. While the proposed increase is noteworthy, the President’s proposal includes an ambitious reorganization of federal STEM programs. The major components include consolidation or elimination of 114 federal STEM programs. This would bring the total down from 226 to 112. Specifically 78 programs are terminated with funds redirected to other agencies (this totals $176 million). The breakdown by Agency of targeted programs and the expected savings:

Department of Defense: 6 programs (out of 16) – $49.4 million
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): 38 programs (out of 61) – $47.5 million
National Institutes of Health (NIH): 9 programs (out of 24) – $27.6 million
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): 2 programs (out of 7) – $16.1 million
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): 6 programs (out of 15) – $13.0 million
Department of Agriculture (USDA): 6 programs (out of 16) – $10.9 million
Department of Energy: 8 programs (out of 18) – $10.9 million
Department of Homeland Security: 1 program (out of 3) – $1.0 million
Nuclear Regulatory Commission: 1 program (out of 3) – less than $0 million

Of the $176 million in funds from the 78 terminated programs $100.3 million would be moved to K-12 STEM programing at the Department of Education, $25 million would be moved to the Smithsonian for a new STEM engagement initiative, and o $51.1 million is moved to the NSF for STEM undergraduate education and fellowship programs. The STEM Education Coalition, of which ASCE is a founder and steering committee member, is currently preparing a response to the Administration’s proposal. While unlikely to comment on the elimination of specific programs, the Coalition, with ASCE’s support, will respond favorably to the proposal. The Coalition strongly supported federal leadership and funding for K-12 math and science programs, however 226 programs across multiple federal agency clearly do not represent a national focus. While agencies like NASA clearly have an educational role to play, the existing 61 programs seem excessive. What does this have to do with infrastructure? Engineers, as the profession most responsible for the nation’s build environment, have a responsibility to ensure that the next generation of engineers will be ready to face the challenges of the future. Our education system is not meeting the needs of our increasingly technological society. Many elementary, middle, and high school students do not receive adequate instruction, inspiration, and information in order to pursue STEM disciplines, such that the possibility of studying engineering at the college level is effectively precluded. Students who have the aptitude to be successful engineers never have an opportunity to develop an interest in this career path. Consequently, too few well-qualified students are pursuing careers in civil engineering. The President’s proposal does face many hurdles, not the least of which is that fact that it needs the consent of Congress. Even before the House and Senate can consider the proposal, each chamber’s authorizing committees will have to weigh in. Given the number and range of departments and agencies involved, Obama will need to gain approval of at least half the Committees in both the House and Senate, a very tall order. However, it is a start.

Tags: congress, stem
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Alabama Needs a State Dam Safety Program

April 17th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

Op-ed by Shelia Montgomery-Mills, President of the Birmingham Branch of the America Society of Civil Engineers. Originally published in the Birmingham News, April 13, 2013. Alabama continues to be the only state in the country without a state dam safety program. We do not know precisely how many dams we actually have, much less their condition. That is unacceptable for our state and unacceptable for Alabama’s security, public safety, and ultimately the economy. This week, Congressman Patrick Maloney (D-NY) introduced the National Dam Safety Act of 2013. The dam safety re-authorization would provide grants for inspections, research, and public awareness to the 49 states that currently have a dam safety program, meaning Alabama is the only state not eligible for any of these funds. As our nation takes this critical step, it should serve as a stark reminder that, when considering dam safety, our state is woefully behind the rest of the country. In the recently released 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers awarded our country’s infrastructure a D+. The 2013 Report Card is a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s infrastructure across 16 sectors and also includes the amount of investment required to make the necessary improvements. The grades are quite similar to those in most education systems, A’s are great and D’s are poor. Updated once every four years, this year’s Report Card found that America’s infrastructure actually went up from a D grade in 2009. The cost to bring all categories up to a B level by 2020 would cost the nation $3.6 trillion between now and 2020. Despite the improvement, a D+ is unacceptable. We must find ways to raise the grade and act now. The 2013 Report Card awarded our nation’s Dams a D. Currently the average age of the 84,000 dams in the country is 52 years old and the total number of high-hazard dams continues to rise. It is important to understand that high-hazard refers to the strong likelihood of significant economic losses and potential loss of human life if a dam fails. To repair just the nation’s aging, high-hazard dams the Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that it will require an investment of $21 billion. While the 2013 Report Card paints a poor picture for the country, it paints an even worse scenario for Alabama in the category of dams. In our state, we cannot begin to calculate our needs because we have no entity responsible for accounting for this critical infrastructure. Alabama’s state legislature should at the very least act to take an inventory of dams in the state and assess their potential risk to life and property. How can Alabama hope to build a 21st century economy when we do not have the regulations in place to secure and protect our communities and neighborhoods? Many states did not enact legislation for dam safety until loss of life and significant property and infrastructure damage occurred. Dam failures have occurred in Alabama, many more near failures have occurred than anyone can account for. Without regulations in place, there is no requirement to report the incidents. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to act before a major disaster occurs. We should learn from the experiences of other states and act swiftly to protect our citizens as well as our economy. Strong infrastructure is linked to a strong economy. Better roads and bridges mean businesses can move goods more efficiently, decreasing costs, and reducing prices. More capable businesses create greater profits, which in turn creates new jobs and opportunities for economic growth. Companies want to do business in states with reliable infrastructure. If they have to worry about roads being closed, ports being unable to move their goods, or the energy grid failing, then businesses will take their jobs elsewhere. And when a dam fails, critical infrastructure is put into jeopardy, costing businesses and Alabamians thousands, while also putting the public at a great, and arguably unnecessary, risk. The state of Alabama is not keeping pace with other states, and the fact that we do not even have the regulatory processes in place to account for our state’s dams is unacceptable. We must take the next step in at least knowing where all of our dams are located and determine their condition. This will by no means change our fortunes overnight, but it will at the very least allow Alabama to compete on the same level as the rest of the country.

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The Panama Canal Expansion and Commerce

April 10th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing this afternoon on the expansion of the Panama Canal and the effects that the expansion will have on freight movement in the United States. The issue is one that ASCE has been discussing in depth over the past few months, because the economic impacts could be severe. During the hearing Chairman Jay Rockefeller strongly stated that the United States has “grown accustomed to an ad-hoc approach to maintaining our surface transportation network”. He went on further to state that “this lack of planning and shortsighted thinking doesn’t reflect what our country truly needs: A strategic, long-term vision for rebuilding our transportation system.” Rockefeller finished his opening remarks declaring that without a vision and the ability to make tough choices, that the U.S. will end up burdened with “inadequate infrastructure” as the rest of the world continues investing. With the scheduled expansion of the Panama Canal by 2015, the average size of container ships is likely to increase significantly, affecting the operations at most of the major U.S. ports that handle containerized cargo and requiring both sectors to modernize. Needed investment in marine ports includes harbor and channel dredging, while inland waterways require new or rehabilitated lock and dam facilities. To remain competitive on a global scale, U.S. marine ports and inland waterways will require investment in the coming decades beyond the $14.4 billion currently expected. ASCE reports that with an additional investment of $15.8 billion between now and 2020, the U.S. can eliminate this drag on economic growth and protect:

$270 billion in U.S. exports
$697 billion in GDP
738,000 jobs in 2020
$872 billion in personal income, or $770 per year for households

Unless America’s infrastructure investment gaps are filled, transporting goods will become costlier, prices will rise, and the United States will become less competitive in the global market. As a result, employment, personal income, and GDP will all fall due to inaction. ASCE’s full statement for the record can be seen here.

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Obama Expands on Infrastructure Plans

April 8th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

President Obama used ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure several weeks ago at the Port of Miami to make a renewed push for increased infrastructure investment. The President has been pushing for a more complete set of infrastructure proposals for years and even included the message in his State of the Union this past January.

English: South façade of the White House, the ...

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Obama Administration’s latest proposal includes:

A $10 billion infrastructure bank focused on national and regional significance, headed by an independent, bipartisan board.
America Fast Forward bonds, which would build off the success of Build America Bonds. The bonds would be structured to benefit investors, including pension funds that do not benefit from traditional tax-exempt debt, but the administration says its proposal is close to being revenue-neutral.
An increase in the cap on certain private activity bonds. In particular, no cap on the amount issued for water projects and a $4 billion increase up to $19 billion for highway and freight facilities. The bonds could also be used for privately owned airports, port facilities, and mass-transit commuting facilities.
A plan to make foreign pension plans tax exempt for infrastructure and other real property assets. Gains on those investments are now taxable at a 35 percent rate, while domestic pension funds are exempt from such taxes. As a result, big pension funds are not investing in the United States according to the administration.
An additional $4 billion injection into TIGER grants and the TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) program in FY 2014. Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funds were already expanded by MAP-21.

While ASCE supports President Obama’s continued message of increased investments for infrastructure, his plan does not state how the federal government would pay for the proposal. Without a funding package plan in place the proposal will prove challenging to pass through the current Congress.

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House and Senate Pass Budget Resolutions for 2014

April 2nd, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

Capitol (Photo credit: rpongsaj)

The Senate passed a budget resolution for the first time in four years on March 23 that calls for reducing the federal deficit by $1.85 trillion over 10 years. The Senate also approved provisions in the resolution for Fiscal year 2014 that would restore the $85 billion cut from the Fiscal Year 2013 budget under the sequestration order issued by the White House this month. After 13 hours of voting on various amendments and early-morning deal brokering in response to frustrated Republicans, the Senate voted to pass the budget by a close 50-49 vote. The resolution is not legally binding but only serves as a guide to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which must begin writing legislation to fund federal agencies for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2013. Keeping in line with earlier draft language, Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) was able to retain a $100 billion jobs and infrastructure package in the fiscal 2014 budget, which includes a $50 billion infusion to fix the nation’s most deficient bridges, airports and transit systems, keeping in line with President Obama’s fix it first concept for infrastructure investment. “The Senate budget tackles our deficit and debt the way the American people have told us they want it done: with a balanced mix of responsible spending cuts and new revenue from the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations,” the budget document said. The House passed Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget earlier in March. The budget passed with a vote of 221-207. Instead of calling for an overhaul in how we fund infrastructure, the Ryan budget intends for the federal government to only spend what the gas tax brings in rather than continue to supplement the Highway Trust Fund with general fund transfers. This direction would effectively cut about a third of federal government spending on surface transportation. Currently, the gap between what gets spent out of the Highway Trust Fund and what the trust fund brings in is around $15 billion a year. The House budget also identifies the U.S. Department of Transportation as a department that offers “a number of areas where spending could be cut back responsibly.” It goes on further to state that the federal formula for spending on surface transportation is “distorted, leading to imprudent, irresponsible and often downright wasteful spending.” The House Budget Resolution can be seen here. The Senate Budget Resolution can be seen here.

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Sections and Branches Lead the Way on the 2013 Report Card

March 29th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card

This March, ASCE released the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure in a brand new format as a tablet and smart phone app during the annual Congressional Fly-In. ASCE members from all 50 states participated in taking the infrastructure message to Capitol Hill and shared the Report Card with their Members of Congress. Members have also been actively continuing to share the Report Card in their local areas by:

Assisting as spokespeople with TV and newspaper interviews like KARE in Minnesota and KIRO in Seattle
Updating their State Report Cards in 19 states so that local information is available for policymakers and the public
Working with ASCE to write op-eds and letters to the editor about local or state infrastructure like in the Tennessean and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Updating their websites to include links to the Report Card website and their State and Regional Report Cards

As one of our three key initiatives, ASCE is continually working to raise awareness about the need for infrastructure investment and renewal. The Report Card is a key tool you can use to start conversations with policy makers and the public about infrastructure needs in your community. Every Section and Branch can take advantage of resources and opportunities to take the message to their area:

At your next meeting, discuss how your Section can use the Report Card to highlight pressing issues in your state or region, and let us know how we can help. The ASCE team who puts together the Report Card is available to answer your questions and work with you on using the message to start conversations at the state and local level so email us at reportcard@asce.org.
Ask your Board to share the Report Card with their professional networks like LinkedIn and social networks like Facebook with a short story about the infrastructure problems they tackle every day in their jobs.
Hold an infrastructure solutions event with other infrastructure stakeholders in your area or have a Section program featuring one of the Report Card Success Story winners from your area; tips and best practices for these events are available on the Report Card Outreach Toolkit.

Tags: congress, economics, infrastructure report card
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