The Highway Trust Fund Deserves More Than a Patch
August 25th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Attention on the Highway Trust Fund seems to have waned since Congress passed a 10-month funding patch in July. However, May will be here before we know it. There is still more work to be done to keep transportation projects across the country funded and our elected leaders need to start having real discussions about long-term sustainable revenue sources now. In the 2013 Infrastructure Report Card, roads received a grade of D, bridges a C+, and transit a D grade. Without long-term investments, America’s transportation systems will continue to limp along with patchwork repairs. ASCE Managing Director of Government Relations, Brian Pallasch, spoke to Bloomberg BNA reporter Heather Caygle as part of the Eye on the Hill series about the state of America’s transportation infrastructure. Watch the interview here to learn more about the importance of infrastructure investment and the need to #FixTheTrustFund.This Week in Infrastructure: Get Noisier!
August 8th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
After Congress hit the snooze button on fixing the Highway Trust Fund last week, Transportation Secretary Foxx asked Americans to “get a little noisier” on the issue. You can take Sec. Foxx up on his request at FixtheTrustFund.org. Newspapers across the country featured articles, op-eds, and letters to the editor voicing concerns about Congress’ punt last week and encouraging action for a long-term, sustainable solution. There are plenty of good reasons and sound arguments to share when discussing the value in a fix to the Highway Trust Fund. Instead of short-term gimmicks, there is growing support for an increased gas tax because of the value it would create through investment in roads and bridges. A Highway Trust Fund that has adequate funds ensures that state DOTs can plan projects and leads to modern and innovative infrastructure. Northeastern University researchers shared technology that would help eradicate potholes. Ideas like this one are a great example of where infrastructure is heading, and a healthy Highway Trust Fund makes those innovations all the more likely. Roads and bridges are not the only infrastructure sectors that are crying out for investment either, as evident from the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure’s D+ GPA across 16 sectors. In the past week, the need for investment in the drinking water and wastewater sectors has been particularly apparent because of the water main break at UCLA in California and the unsafe drinking water in the Toledo, Ohio area. Infrastructure works as an interconnected system, making investment in every sector critical for the others as well. While your elected lawmakers are back home during August recess, take the time to “get noisy” and engage with them about the value in infrastructure investment. When the “noise” is a dialogue armed with economic stats, it can create a compelling argument to #FixtheTrustFund and invest in all sectors of infrastructure.Tags: Drinking Water, gas tax, highway trust fund, water infrastructure
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Statement on the Congressional Passage of the 10 Month Patch to the Highway Trust Fund
August 1st, 2014 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Washington, D.C. —The following is a statement from Randall (Randy) Over, P.E., President of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on the passage of short-term funding to the federal Highway Trust Fund.: “We thank Congress for passing the short-term patch to the Highway Trust Fund. This legislation will protect thousands of jobs and avert an economic calamity for a few more months. While this legislation is certainly better than nothing, all it actually does is reset the countdown clock for May 2015. “ASCE urges Congress to return from the August recess ready to find real solutions to fix the Highway Trust Fund. There is adequate time before Congress adjourns in 2014 to identify long-term, sustainable funding sources for the nation’s surface transportation program. We shouldn’t wait until May 2015 to solve America’s infrastructure problems.”Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 145,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
Tags: congress, highway trust fund, transportation
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This Week in Infrastructure: Action Packed
August 1st, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Between the water main break on UCLA’s campus, the two Senate votes, and House vote to patch the Highway Trust Fund, the high cost of the failure to act was obvious this week. D+ infrastructure, the overall grade in ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, is in part because of the aging pipes, roads, bridges, and train tracks in the United States. The way to improve the grades is to invest, which would include repairing and replacing infrastructure that has reached the end of its useful life. The Highway Trust Fund is a crucial funding mechanism in raising the grades of roads, bridges and transit. States depend on the federal government to be a partner in funding transportation projects, and unfortunately the long-term status of the Highway Trust Fund is still uncertain. Last week, the House approved a bill that would provide funding to the Highway Trust Fund until May. This week Tuesday, the Senate passed a similar bill, with one crucial difference: the funding would last until December, thus ensuring that Congress would be required to revisit the Highway Trust Fund before the close of the year, and hopefully pass a long-term bill with sustainable funding. Because the two bills were at odds, the House then revisited the legislation on Thursday and voted to remain with the original bill it passed last week. Later that day, the Senate passed the House’s original bill, averting the USDOT’s slowing its payments to states, and the bill will now be sent to the White House for the President’s signature. The bill provides a patch that will sustain the Highway Trust Fund through May. However Congress still has not passed legislation that includes a long-term, sustainable funding solution. Without this, state DOTs will have difficulty moving forward on projects, and Congress will still be focused on averting funding crises, rather than ensuring opportunity for long-term growth through surface transportation projects. Behind every improvement of a Report Card grade and every filled in pothole, there is economic growth and improved commutes. Ultimately that is what this debate is about: improving Americans’ quality of life. While your Congressional members are back home during August recess, take the opportunity to visit or attend a local town hall, and ask your elected lawmakers to #fixtheTrustFund.Tags: congress, Drinking Water, highway trust fund
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ASCE Statement on the Senate Passage of H.R. 5021 to Sustain the Highway Trust Fund until December
July 29th, 2014 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Washington, D.C. —The following is a statement from Randall (Randy) Over, P.E., President of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on the passage of H.R. 5021 in the U.S. Senate: “This evening, the United States Senate assured that road, bridge, and transit projects, along with countless American jobs, will be preserved until at least December 2014. We also congratulate the bipartisan majority of Senators who helped pass the Carper-Corker-Boxer amendment. This amendment will help our economy and put us on a path to actually fixing the Highway Trust Fund this year. “The Senate made a number of smart choices today. By rejecting Senator Lee’s ‘devolution’ amendment, a bipartisan Senate strongly reaffirmed the federal government’s role in America’s transportation future. We know that we cannot build a modern infrastructure system capable of meeting the demands of a 21st century economy without a national vision, and we are pleased to see so many Senators feel the same. “It is now up to the House to act and immediately pass the Senate bill. For some time now, the American Society of Civil Engineers has been urging Congress to #FixTheTrustFund. Through social media, blogs, videos, press interviews, and even a website—www.fixthetrustfund.org—the key word the entire time has been ‘fix.’ Today, the Senate decided that they want to fix the Trust Fund in 2014. “Americans are tired of seeing Congress hem and haw when it comes to making tough choices. Our nation’s infrastructure deficit is not going away until our leaders find the courage to address America’s changing needs. Infrastructure is the backbone of our national economy, and by moving from stop-gap to stop-gap, Congress is only injecting greater uncertainty into an already fragile economic recovery. The time to fix the Highway Trust Fund is now. “Congress and the White House, Republicans and Democrats, all must come together to find a real solution to the Highway Trust Fund over the next five months. If we truly want to fix the Trust Fund, we need vision and leadership that is capable of looking beyond partisan divides and instead look for answers for renewed investment in America’s future.”Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 145,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org
Tags: congress, highway trust fund, house of representatives, senate, transportation
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This Week in Infrastructure: All eyes are on the Senate… for next week
July 25th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
The Senate will vote early next week on the House’s bill to extend funding to the Highway Trust Fund until May. The upper chamber is poised to debate and vote on the bill and four amendments to it, including the Carper-Corker-Boxer Amendment, which ASCE supports. If passed, the amendment would shorten the funding extension, thus requiring Congress to revisit the topic by December and make a decision to pass a long-term, sustainable bill for the Highway Trust Fund. This would shorten the length of uncertainty for states, and allow for better planning of transportation projects. Maryland’s Senators authored an op-ed on the value in a multi-year transportation bill, again detailing the benefit of longer term transportation funding laws. Vice President Joe Biden tried his hand at the White House White Board video series to explain once again the value in infrastructure investment. While it can often seem Congress is “riding on four flat tires,” as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says, there was an encouraging announcement from another part of the federal government, The Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $10 billion in private funding for rural infrastructure investment. Next week’s Senate actions will provide clearer next steps in the quest for a long-term, sustainable bill to #FixtheTrustFund.Tags: congress, highway trust fund, infrastructure, White House
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This Week in Infrastructure: The House Approves a Highway Trust Fund Patch
July 18th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a short-term bill to keep the Highway Trust Fund up and running until May 2015. While Democrats were hesitant about the proposal, ultimately the bill passed with bipartisan support, 367-55. In a statement commenting on its passage, ASCE reiterated the need for a long-term, sustainable funding solution. A wide variety of groups urged Congress in a letter to “avoid the immediate transportation cliff and improve the long-term fiscal condition of the Highway Trust Fund.”. The diverse list of co-signers, from the National Retail Federation to the civil rights organization NAACP, and ASCE to Smart Growth America, underscores the potential detriment of inaction. Meanwhile, newspaper editorial boards continue to rally around the idea to increase the gas tax. Most notably this week The New York Times and Bloomberg offered compelling arguments for raising the user fee to ensure it has the buying power of the 2014 dollar. Even comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show weighed in with his views on the subject. The White House also focused much of its week on infrastructure investment, releasing a report to support its Rebuild America campaign.Good infrastructure has a ripple effect: Job creation ✓ Less road congestion ✓ More reliable travel times ✓ pic.twitter.com/dhzBo2Whfp
— Vice President Biden (@VP) July 15, 2014
On Thursday, President Obama visited Delaware’s I-495 bridge to announce the administration’s new public-private partnership funding initiative, the Build America Transportation Investment Center. This “one-stop shop” will connect state and local governments with private financing options.
This week the media discussed the Highway Trust Fund frequently, and the topic will likely remain in the headlines into next week as the Senate prepares to act on a program extension. Therefore, there is still much work to be doing to #FixtheTrustFund. Join that effort by contacting Congress now and encouraging long-term, sustainable legislation.
Tags: gas tax, highway trust fund, P3s, surface transportation
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ASCE Statement on the Build America Investment Initiative
July 17th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Washington, D.C. — The following is a statement from Randall (Randy) S. Over, P.E., F.ASCE, president, ASCE on the Build America Investment Initiative: “Today’s action by President Obama to launch the Build America Investment Initiative comes at a critical time as we witness Congress still debating how to provide a long-term, sustainable solution to the federal Highway Trust Fund. While private sector financing can by no means replace public funding, states and localities urgently need all of the best tools available to provide transportation solutions for their communities. “The newly-created Build America Transportation Investment Center can play a vital role in sharing best public-private partnerships (P3s) practices and encouraging more states to utilize P3s to a greater degree, thereby creating a more robust U.S. market and attracting private sector investment in our nation’s transportation infrastructure. “ASCE looks forward to working with the Obama Administration to positively implement this action in the coming weeks and months. ASCE supports a comprehensive funding and financing program for operating, maintaining, and improving the nation’s transportation system, which includes P3s, infrastructure banks, bonding and other innovative financing mechanisms. If utilized appropriately, these financing mechanisms can help leverage available transportation funding and play an important role in delivering projects and managing assets effectively.”###
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 145,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.Tags: ASCE, bridges, Build America Investment Initative, congress, highway trust fund, infrastructure, P3s, roads, surface transportation, White House
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ASCE Statement on the House Plan to Maintain the Highway Trust Fund for Only 9 More Months
July 15th, 2014 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Washington, D.C. —The following is a statement from Patrick Natale, P.E., Executive Director of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on the passage of H.R. 5021 in the U.S. House of Representatives: “Today, the U.S. House of Representatives averted an immediate economic disaster by addressing the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Regrettably, their efforts also created a new, looming disaster next May. Punting on America’s infrastructure deficit will not fix the problem, and in fact will only create greater economic uncertainty. Congress needs to get serious about America’s future rather than creating more unnecessary turmoil. “America’s businesses, laborers, engineers, and manufacturers have been urging Congress for well over a year to find a long-term, sustainable solution to our country’s surface transportation issues. States and cities cannot plan for the future if funding is only going to be approved on a crisis by crisis basis. Imagine the challenges of building your home if you were unaware of where your money was coming from or when you could use it—that is the current case for America’s infrastructure. “The band-aid put on the Highway Trust Fund today ensures that we must limp along rather than take proactive steps to create a solid economic foundation. By maintaining current funding, we are solidifying funding levels that have given the U.S. an infrastructure grade of D+ in ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Does Congress not think America deserves better than a barely passing grade? “This moment is the best opportunity in a generation to solve America’s infrastructure deficit. Now is the time for a renewed investment in our nation’s infrastructure. We need bipartisan leadership from Congress and the White House to pass a long-term, reliable funding solution that will give states and cities the ability to plan for the future.”###
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 145,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
Tags: ASCE, bridges, congress, highway trust fund, roads, surface transportation, transportation
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This Week in Infrastructure: House and Senate Plans
July 11th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Congress returned to Washington this week with the Highway Trust Fund on the agenda. The Senate Finance Committee offers a bipartisan proposal by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. The House Ways and Means Committee marked up a bill Thursday morning, which is expected to be voted on by the full chamber next week. However, either bill would take some reconciliation to pass through the other chamber. More critically, neither bill provides a long-term, sustainable funding solution. These discussions take place with a backdrop of the DOT warning a 28 percent reimbursement cut for states. “Slower and lower payments,” as Secretary Foxx warned, are concerning states to varying degrees. While some states have contingency plans that will allow projects to continue, the federal government’s role as a partner in transportation is crucial. Vice President Biden echoed this belief on Wednesday, while among government and business officials, including several ASCE members, when he urged Congress to act, both to prevent a shortfall and toward a long-term bill. He noted that historically transportation funding was a bipartisan issue which benefits everyone. Congress is in session for a few more weeks before August recess. Encourage your senators and representative to continue working toward a long-term, sustainable solution to fix the Trust Fund because investing in transportation infrastructure ensures mobility, a benefit to the economy.
