Senator Shaheen Supports NH-ASCE

I intentionally avoid getting into the politics of infrastructure, but it is important to give thanks where it is due. For the unveiling of the 2011 ASCE-NH Report Card update, there were representatives of Senator Shaheen, Senator Ayotte, and Representative Bass. We are very appreciative of their support and having a continued relationship.

With the frustration of the recent events in congress, I sent out e-mails to our New Hampshire congressional delegation. Unfortunately I live outside Representative Giunta's district so that even though he is on the critical House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am not able to communicate with him.

Yesterday at 4:36pm I sent an e-mail to Maggie Leuzarder, an aide to Senator Shaheen who attended the Report Card unveiling. Within the hour I received an e-mail from Washington staffer Andrew Zabel and Dover staffer Sarah Holmes allowing us to set up a conference call for today. In these trying times it is impressive to have such a responsive Senator.

With the generosity of their time, we were able to cover the status of the Surface Transportation Bill, the  Infrastructure Bank, the Aviation Reauthorization, the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act, the National Dam Safety Act, and the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act.

I left the discussion on raising the debt ceiling alone as I have been following it closely and although I do support responsibly reducing the deficit, but what is playing out in front us today on either side has more to do with politics and political leveraging than any positive steps to balance entitlements and the deficit.

The Surface Transportation Bill is likely stuck until the debt ceiling is resolved. The House and Senate have laid out in general terms. Bills of 6 years and $230 billion in the house (about a 35% decrease from the previous bill) and 2 years and $109 billion in the Senate. Little movement has occurred with the debt ceiling debate.

The Aviation Reauthorization Bill (HR 2553/S 223) failed to pass the Senate last Friday. This means that over 2000 FAA employees are now out of work and the Aviation fund is losing about $200 million per week in lost revenue based upon taxes on airline tickets that now have no mechanism to be collected. This will also continue to have a dramatic effect on the aviation consulting and construction industries. From here the Senate has appointed their members of the conference committee, but the house has to date failed to appoint their representatives. My understanding is that this bill is being held up from its 21st short term reauthorization because language was attached that added airports to the essential air services subsidies and language that would make it more difficult for airport employees to unionize. Since this funding is already included in the current budget, this bill could be extended without regard to the debt service, but it is unlikely to move forward during the debt service debate.

The Infrastructure Bank is still in infancy, but I am very concerned that the expectation of private funding to make up the 35% reduction in the Surface Transportation Act and the basis for the infrastructure will benefit larger states more than states with smaller GDPs like Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This is based on typical public-private partnerships are a minimum of $100 million dollars. There is a provision for rural projects to have a $25 million dollar threshold, but it will be important to watch this bill as it unfolds to make sure that it is fair to all states.

The Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act (HB 1802/S939), I have written about previously. These were introduced in May. I have asked Senator Shaheen to consider co-sponsoring the Senate Bill.

The National Dam Safety Reauthorization (expires on September 30, 2011) and the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act has not yet been introduced. Senator Akaka along with Senator Whitehouse will be introducing both bills at the same time, but would like both the house and senate to introduce the bills concurrently.prior to the August recess. Again I have asked Senator Shaheen to consider co-sponsoring these bills.

I thank Senator Shaheen and her staff for their responsiveness and their continued support of Infrastructure in New Hampshire. It is important to find your voice and start building relationships with your congressional delegation. The events to occur in the 112th Congress will impact all engineers, likely to an extent unprecedented in our careers and even lifetimes.