This much-needed legislation immediately passed in the Senate after our bridges began collapsing–so why does it now seem stuck in the House? Is Major Infrastructure Bill Parked In House Committee?By Cliff Montgomery – Nov. 16th, 2007On Nov. 7th, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) used her power as chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to file a written report on a current congressional bill establishing a National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States.This much-needed legislation was introduced in the Senate by her colleague, Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) on March 6th, 2007. But it was the fateful Minneapolis bridge collapse on Aug. 1st which practically ensured the bill’s passage in the chamber.Boxer’s panel reported the bill with an amendment to the full Senate the very next day, on Aug. 2nd. By that evening it had aced the Senate by unanimous consent, and was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Aug. 3rd.But with the corporate press soon turning to other matters, the impetus for this much-needed legislation seems to have faded; the bill currently appears to be parked in the House Transportation Committee.We quote the major parts of Sen. Boxer’s report below:TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE UNITED STATESBACKGROUND“The `National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2007‘ would create a commission to be known as the `National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States’ to ensure that the infrastructure of the United States meets current and future demand, facilitates economic growth, is maintained in a manner that ensures public safety, and is developed or modified in a sustainable manner.”The National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States is needed because the infrastructure of our nation is aging quickly and may be vulnerable to potential failure. For example, on August 1, 2007 during the evening rush hour, the I-35W Mississippi Bridge located in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed, killing 13 people.”While the cause of the collapse is still under investigation, the bridge was completed in November of 1967, and had been in use for almost forty years. It also had been classified as structurally deficient. Much of the nation’s infrastructure has not only exceeded its design life but has become an impediment to further economic growth, and creates safety hazards either because of its physical condition or because it does not meet current design standards.”The Department of Transportation has reported that 27.1% of our nation’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. According to DOT’s Conditions and Performance report, the nation spent $75 billion on highway infrastructure in 2005 but needs to spend $100 billion annually.”The wastewater management systems in the United States are also aging, as they continue to discharge billions of gallons of untreated sewage into U.S. surface waters every year. The EPA has estimated that nationwide all levels of government will need to spend $390 billion over the next twenty years to replace existing systems to meet increasing demand.SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATIONDuties[…] “The Commission is directed to study:
- The capacity of infrastructure to sustain economic development now and in the future;
- The age and condition of public infrastructure;
- The methods used to finance the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and maintenance of infrastructure;
- Investment requirements that are necessary to maintain and to improve infrastructure based on current expenditures by Federal, State, and local governments;
- The impact of local development patterns on demand for Federal funding of infrastructure;
- The impact of deferred maintenance; and
- The collateral impact of deteriorated infrastructure.
“The National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2007 states that the Commission will develop recommendations on a Federal infrastructure plan that will detail:
- National infrastructure program priorities;
- […] Infrastructure improvements and methods of delivering and providing for infrastructure facilities;
- […] Analysis or criteria and procedures that may be used by Federal agencies and State and local governments in [creating inventories of] existing and needed infrastructure improvements, assessing the condition of infrastructure improvements, developing uniform criteria and procedures for use in conducting the inventories and assessments, and maintaining publicly accessible data; and
- […] Proposed guidelines for the uniform reporting by Federal agencies of data in regards to infrastructure improvements.
Funding“This section provides the Commission with authority to request funding from fiscal years 2008 through 2010, from amounts made available to the Secretary of Transportation (from any source other than the Highway Trust Fund), from the General Expenses account of the Corps of Engineers, and from the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.Commission Termination[…] “The Commission shall terminate on September 30, 2010.”Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
