The House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials heard testimony on Tuesday from witnesses regarding federal subsidies for passenger rail service provided by Amtrak. Over the past few years, Amtrak’s ridership has increased dramatically, increasing the revenue stream, and reducing reliance on federal subsidies. Despite these improvements coming from the Passenger Rail Investment and [...]

Congressman John Delaney today introduced the bipartisan Partnership to Build America Act. The legislation would finance the rebuilding of our country’s transportation, energy, communications, water, and education infrastructure through the creation of the American Infrastructure Fund (AIF) by using repatriated corporate earnings as well as through utilizing public-private partnerships. The AIF would provide loans or [...]

According to civil engineers in Kansas and Missouri, the states have an imperative to improve their inadequate infrastructure systems if they hope to boost their economies. Today marks the release of both the 2013 Report Card for Missouri’s Infrastructure and the 2013 Report Card for Kansas’s Infrastructure. Engineers in each state spent the last year [...]

Washington’s transportation infrastructure has significant needs according to a new report by the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The new report, titled the 2013 Report Card for Washington’s Infrastructure, awarded Washington State’s infrastructure a C due to a lack of planned funding and inadequate maintenance. “We cannot hope to have [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Imagine holding four U.S. patents for a landmark and unique bridge technology, more than a dozen foreign or pending patents and winning every major design and construction award available in the nation.  Now imagine all of this being accomplished by one individual – civil engineer John Hillman. In a White House ceremony today, Hillman and [...]

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 [...]

In a serendipitous coincidence, six of America’s former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) gathered for the Goode Transportation  Policy Conference less than 10 minutes away from the White House where President Obama was announcing his new nominee for Secretary of Transportation, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. Here’s what the former secretaries had to [...]