More than 204 million motor vehicles make daily crossings over approximately 60,000 bridges in the United States that are classified as structurally deficient. The federal government over the last decade has pumped between $6 billion and $7 billion per year into bridge projects. Now, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is recommending that the […]
Federal transportation grants totaling nearly $800 million are expected to leverage additional federal, state, local and private funding to support $3.6 billion in infrastructure investment in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx this week announced the first round of funding from the FASTLANE federal grant program toward 18 urban and rural road, […]
Another national organization of U.S public officials has added its name to a growing list of supporters seeking congressional reauthorization of the country’s EB-5 Regional Center Program. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently adopted a resolution that calls on Congress not only to reauthorize the economic development program created in 1990, but to […]
Last month, President Obama signed a bill that had reached his desk. The new statute had only one objective – to improve the federal government’s slow responses to Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. The intent of the congressional sponsors was clearly to make government more transparent to the people it serves. If that can be […]
Public officials at the state and local levels of government have tried for years to get the federally imposed cap on Private Activity Bonds (PABs) increased. In spite of their efforts, there has been no success. Tax-exempt PABs provide low-cost financing for projects that serve a public purpose. However, the current cap of $15 billion […]
FEMA to require states to pay into disaster assistance fund The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is considering the establishment of a financial obligation that states would be required to make before becoming eligible for public assistance after a disaster. In short, FEMA wants every state to invest in disaster mitigation. Public comments on the […]
An estimated 231 million travelers will take flight this summer on U.S. airlines alone – up 4 percent from last summer’s high of 222 million passengers. International flights will add about 30 million additional travelers. While exciting times may begin once passengers step off the planes, getting inside the airplanes to take off will require […]