Infrastructure in the Obama Budget

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama emphasized infrastructure funding. His budget proposal includes increases for transportation, especially for high-speed rail, but cuts other infrastructure programs.

Unfortunately, Infrastructure Watch doesn’t have the time to dig through the budget and analyze it. Fortunately, professional journalists, paid bloggers, and big stakeholders do. Here is a compilation of some articles from these diligent folks.

Education, Infrastructure Win in Obama Budget (Gramlich, J., Stateline, Feb. 15, 2011)

EPA Budget Proposal Focuses on Air and Climate, Cuts Water Grants (Nelson, G., & Chemnick, J., New York Times, Feb. 14, 2011)

Geithner: Infrastructure Bank Would End Bridges to Nowhere (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 9, 2011)

Grading Obama’s Budget Proposal for Food, Water and Fish (Food and Water Watch, Feb., 16, 2011)

Obama Budget has $5 Billion for Infrastructure Bank (Lambert, L., Reuters UK, Feb. 17, 2011)

Obama Budget has $556 Billion , Six-Year Transporation Plan (Crawley, J., & Lambert, L., Reuters, Feb. 14, 2011)

Obama Budget Hikes Transportation But Cuts Other Construction Programs (Ichniowski, T., & Hunter, P., Engineering News-Record, Feb. 16, 2011)

Obama’s $3.7 Trillion Budget Sets Fight in Congress (Runningen, R., & Faler, B., Bloomberg, Feb. 14, 2011)

Reconnecting America Releases Analysis of Obama Budget Proposal

Tax Hikes May Outweigh Obama Budget (Hoover, K., Portland Business Journal, Feb. 16, 2011)

President Sends Jobs Plan to Congress

President Barack Obama has submitted his $447 billion jobs plan to Congress. It includes about $50 billion on transportation spending.

Related posts and articles
Obama Gets Specific in His Jobs Bill
Obama Unveils $447 Billion Jobs Plan
Obama’s New $50 Billion Infrastructure Stimulus – Old Wine in New Bottles
President Obama’s American Jobs Act
President Obama’s American Jobs Act Factsheet
President Proposes New Recovery Plan
Texts: “American Jobs Act” and Obama’s Letter to Congress
White House: Obama to Send Jobs Bill to Congress on Monday

President-Elect Obama Announces Environmental Nominations

President-elect Barack Obama has been announcing a string of nominations, including those in agencies that have environmental and infrastructure responsibilities. He has nominated Lisa Jackson to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Jackson currently serves as chief of staff for New Jersey Governor John Corzine and previously lead that state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

He named Nancy Sutley to head the Council on Environmental Quality. Sutley is deputy mayor of Los Angeles and formerly worked at EPA during the Clinton administration.

Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner will serve as a “climate czar.” This is a new position that will oversee climate change policy across the entire federal government.

Obama has nominated Steven Chu to serve as Secretary of Energy. Che presently leads the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Related articles and posts:
Obama names environmental team
Obama names choices for key environment and energy posts
Obama Announces Energy, Environmental Team

President-elect Calls for Infrastructure Investment

President-elect Barack Obama called for inclusion of infrastructure improvements as part of an economic stimulus package. Obama’s remarks focused on job creation.

Related articles and posts:
Obama: Put Americans Back to Work on Infrastructure
President-Elect Barack Obama on American Jobs
Water Infrastructure News
Water Resources News Nov. 24, 2008

President Proposes New Recovery Plan

President Barack Obama recently addressed Congress to proposes a $447 billion plan to stimulate the ecomony. He didn’t use the word “stimulus.” He spoke a lot about jobs, though, and is looking to construction as one way to do it. The proposal combines spending and tax breaks. It is bigger than anything the House of Representatives will likely be comfortable passing, but House leaders have indicated there are portions of the proposal they can get behind.

Related posts and articles:
Obama Channels Frustration with $447B Plan
Obama’s Jobs Bill: Heavy on Infrastructure, But Heavy Enough?
Obama Tax Cut Wouldn’t Guarantee Quick Boost, Economists Say

LaHood Announces Plan to Leave DOT

Secretary Ray LaHood announced to the employees of the Department of Transportation (DOT) that after serving for four years in President Obama’s cabinet, he would not be staying on for the second term.  The secretary sent the following email to DOT employees across the country, informing them of his plans:

I have let President Obama know that I will not serve a second term as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the Department, and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity.  I plan to stay on until my successor is confirmed to ensure a smooth transition for the Department and all the important work we still have to do.

As I look back on the past four years, I am proud of what we have accomplished together in so many important areas.  But what I am most proud of is the DOT team. You exemplify the best of public service, and I truly appreciate all that you have done to make America better, to make your communities better, and to make DOT better.

Our achievements are significant.  We have put safety front and center with the Distracted Driving Initiative and a rule to combat pilot fatigue that was decades in the making.  We have made great progress in improving the safety of our transit systems, pipelines, and highways, and in reducing roadway fatalities to historic lows.  We have strengthened consumer protections with new regulations on buses, trucks, and airlines.

We helped jumpstart the economy and put our fellow Americans back to work with $48 billion in transportation funding from the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, and awarded over $3.1 billion in TIGER grants to 218 transportation projects across the Nation.  We have made unprecedented investments in our nation’s ports.  And we have put aviation on a sounder footing with the FAA reauthorization, and secured funding in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act to help States build and repair their roads, bridges and transit systems.

And to further secure our future, we have taken transportation into the 21st century with CAFE Standards, NextGen, and our investments in passenger and High-Speed Rail.  What’s more, we have provided the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with the funding and leadership it needs to prepare a new generation of midshipmen to meet our country’s rapidly-evolving defense and maritime transportation needs.

Closer to home, we also have made great strides.  In December, the DOT was recognized as the most improved agency in the entire Federal government in the 2012 “Best Places to Work” rankings published by the Partnership of Public Service.  Even more impressive, DOT was ranked 9th out of the 19 largest agencies in the government.

Each of these remarkable accomplishments is a tribute your hard work, creativity, commitment to excellence, and most of all, your dedication to our country.  DOT is fortunate to have such an extraordinary group of public servants.  I look forward to continuing to work with all of you as the selection and confirmation process of the next transportation secretary moves forward.  Now is not the time to let up - we still have a number of critical safety goals to accomplish and still more work to do on the implementation of MAP-21.  

I’ve told President Obama, and I’ve told many of you, that this is the best job I’ve ever had.  I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with all of you and I’m confident that DOT will continue to achieve great things in the future.

Thank you, and God bless you.

You can read the original DOT news release here→.

Related posts and articles

LaHood Leaving Transportation (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 31, 2013)

Secretary LaHood’s Legacy: Stronger, Safer Transportation Choices for All Americans (Schmitt, A., Livability Law, Jan. 30, 2013)

Transportation Secretary LaHood to leave office (Jansen, B., USA Today, Jan. 29, 2013)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: I’m Out (Bernstein, A., Transportation Nation, Jan. 29, 2013)

Obama Signs Stimulus Bill

At and event in Denver, Colorado, President Obama signed the American Economic Recover and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1). The bill provides about $787 million for a variety of programs. Some of the highlight for infrastructure programs include:

-Clean water state revolving fund, $4 billion
-Drinking water state revolving fund, $2 billion
-Community development block grants, $1 billion
-Highways, $27.5 billion
-AMTRAK projects, $1.3 billion
-High speed rail corridors & intercity passenger service, $8 billion
-Rail modernization, $750 million
-Transit capital assistance, $6.9 billion
-Fire station grants, $210 million

Related articles and posts:
House Passes Stimulus Bill
Obama signs stimulus bill with $2B for drinking water

Candidates & Infrastructure

This post was revised Sept. 13, 2012.

Elections are coming fast, especially now that the primaries are finished.  Infrastructure doesn’t get the attention many other issues receive.  If you’re reading this blog, you probably think it is important.  Some more attentive and professional bloggers and journalists have been reporting on the candidates stands on infrastructure.

Here are some links related to the presidential candidates.  Some of the articles linked are commentary.  Though not necessarily partisan, they may express politically motivated opinions.  They are presented here for informational purposes, not an endorsement.

Decision 2012: GOP Candidates on Infrastructure (Building America’s Future)

Energy (Associated Press)

Environment (Associated Press)

GOP Candidates, Transportation, Infrastructure, Jobs (Huffington Post)

Obama and Romney on energy, environmental issues (Fox News)

Obama and Romney Tackle 14 Top Science Questions (Scientific American)

On Transport, Romney-Ryan Ticket Presents Extreme Contrast to Obama (Livability Law)

The Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class: Energy Independence (Romney for President, Aug. 22, 2012)

Romney Promises to Fund Transportation (Transportation Nation)

The Romney-Ryan Energy Plan by the Numbers (Chameides, B., The Great Energy Challenge blog, National Geographic, Aug. 29, 2010)

If you know of good resources on the candidate’s stands on infrastructure, especially candidates for Congress, please share them by commenting on this post.  Thanks.

Emanuel States Support for Infrastructure Spending

After President-elect Barack Obama meet with governors at a meeting of the National Governors Association, his transition head and ostensible chief of staff Rahm Emanuel commented that Obama and the governors came to and understanding about the importance of infrastructure investment an its potential to stimulate the economy.

Related articles and posts:
Governors call for federal infrastructure investment
Economic stimulus package would increase transportation funding
Emanuel says infrastructure money a priority for Obama
President-elect calls for infrastructure investment
Water infrastructure news
Water Resources News Nov. 24, 2008

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on Infrastructure?

This posted was amended with additional links on Oct. 23, 2012.

Where do the candidates stand on infrastructure issues?  Diligent journalists and bloggers have been searching for the answers.  The lazy contributor to this blog just compiled a list of links.  We hope you find it useful anyway.

Analysis: Infrastructure and the Election (Adler, B., Architectural Record, Oct. 4, 2012)

Romney’s Goals on Environmental Regulation Would Face Difficult Path (Broder, J. M., New York Times, Oct. 12, 2012)

WHY IT MATTERS: Creaky bridges, potholed roads, tricky politics (Washington Post [Associated Press], Oct. 8, 2012)

6 Energy Policy Highlights from the Democratic Party Platform (Handley, M., U.S. News, Sept. 4, 2012)

An Interview with Mitt Romney (Kudlow, L, National Review Online, Sept. 7, 2012)

Candidates & Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, Sept. 13, 2012)

How Obama’s plan for infrastructure bank would work (Plumer, B., Washington Post, Sept. 19, 2012)

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney talk infrastructure in Plain Dealer interviews (Gomez, H. J., Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 29, 2012)

Dukakis To Transportation Nation: You Were “Dead Wrong” on Romney and Infrastructure (Dellinger, M., Transportation Nation, Aug. 20, 2012)

Candidates and Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, July 17, 2012)

Mitt Romney Discusses Transportation Infrastructure in Charleston, SC (investsouthcarolina, YouTube, Dec. 21, 2011)

Mitt Romney: Metro-Friendly Moderate? (Dellinger, M., Transportation Nation, Dec. 21, 2011)

Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges (PolitiFact)

Federal News Brief

Hersman Floated as Potential Nominee for Transportation Secretary

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman has been rumored to be a top candidate to replace Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation.

LaHood Criticizes Congress, Republican on Highway Funding

Departing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood criticized Congress, and especially his former Republican colleagues, for failing to pass a long-term transportation bill. He anticipates bold moves from President Obama “when he gets around to it.”

Reactions to the State of the Union

As you might expect, infrastructure organizations were disappointed by President Obama’s State of the Union address.  ASCE gently criticized the president’s “Fix-It-First” plan because it does not address the long-term need to pay for infrastructure maintenance.

Supreme Court May Hear Interstate Water Dispute

Kansas has asked the Supreme Court to hear its case against Nebraska.  The Republic River is an important source of water for agriculture in both states, and the Wheat State claims the Cornhuskers are taking more than its fair share.

Government & Infrastructure News

Governors Address Infrastructure

Several governors spoke about their states’ infrastructure needs in state of the state addresses.  Building America’s Future has a nice summary.

He Just Keeps Rollin’ Along

An auxiliary lock on the Mississippi River near Granite City, Illinois, was temporarily closed.  The lock was close after it was damaged by a barge.  By the time the lock was reopened, there were 106 barges and 19 vessels waiting to get through.

Coast Guard officials say the barge accident was unrelated to low water levels in the river.  Low water levels resulting from drought have threatened barge traffic on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Related posts and articles

Mississippi River Shipping Resumes at Ill. Lock (KOMU [AP], Jan. 23, 2013)

Mississippi River Still Threatened by Drought (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 15, 2013)

Quick Hits: Drought (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 22, 2013)

Revisit: Mississippi River (Infrastructure Watch, Jan 13, 2013)

Senator Viewed Low Mississippi River (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 9, 2013)

LaHood Staying On

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced he plans to stay as President Barack Obama begins his second term.  LaHood and Obama both represented Illinois in Congress, and their terms overlapped.

Related posts and articles

LaHood Says He’s Staying On as Transportation Secretary (Plungis, J., Bloomberg, Jan. 22, 2013)

Bill Would Make Water Project Financing More Affordable

The Clean Water Affordability Act of 2011 (H.R. 1189) has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bill would modify the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). These changes include

-Requiring states to use 15 percent of the capitalization grant they receive to finance projects for municipalities with a population of fewer than 10,000 that meet affordability criteria established by the states.

-Allow the CWSF loans terms of up to 30 years (the current limit is 20 years).

-Allow states to use up to 30 percent of the capitalization grant to provide additional subsidization to borrowers that meet affordability criteria, including principal forgiveness and negative interest loans.

Related posts and articles
EPA Budget Proposal Focuses on Air and Climate, Cuts Water Grants
Infrastructure in the Obama Budget
Obama Budget Hikes Transportation But Cuts Other Construction Programs

Obama Nominates Lyons to Nuclear Energy Post

President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Peter Lyons for the post of Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. Dr. Lyons is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy (2009-present).

Previous to this appointment, Dr. Lyons served as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2005 until his term ended in 2009. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor on the staff of Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. From 1997 to 2003, Dr. Lyons was assigned by the Los Alamos National Laboratory to serve as Science Advisor on the staff of U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons held several positions at the Los Alamos National Laboratory including: Director for Industrial Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, and Deputy Associate Director-Defense Research and Applications. Dr. Lyons has published more than 100 technical papers, holds three patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics, and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years.

Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology (1969) and his undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Arizona (1964).

You can read the original Department of Energy news release here.

Related posts and articles:
Federal Energy Nominations
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee Created

Governors Call for Federal Infrastructure Investment

At a meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and governors sponsored by the National Governors Association, state officials called for additional federal investment in infrastructure. They claim investment in infrastructure will have the added benefit of economic stimulus through job creation.

Related articles and posts:
Patrick, other governors to see Obama

Governors Ask for Infrastructure Support

We’ve already written a post on the National Governor’s Association meeting earlier this month in which governors asked for over $136 billion in additional assistance from the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama. A significant portion of this may be directed to infrastructure projects, particularly transportation. The governors are claiming that investments in infrastructure will create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Here are other articles and posts on the subject:
Emanuel states support for infrastructure spending
Governors call for federal infrastructure investment
Obama pledges to work with governors on economy

Fix-It-First

Fix-It-First is a program for infrastructure investment proposed by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address. The program focuses on transportation infrastructure.

One aspect of the program is aimed at attracting private investment. Some types of infrastructure, such as highways, have had difficulty attracting private investors because there is no revenue source for most roads. (In contrast, water and power utilities are often privately owned sometimes entirely financed by private investors because they can charge fees for the use of their infrastructure).

Proponents of the program, and of infrastructure investment generally, tout it as a job-creating measure. Transportation agencies plan on long scales, and many will have projects that are far along in the planning and possibly even design process that could implemented relatively quickly if funding was available (about as close to shovel-ready as infrastructure projects get).

Related posts and articles

‘Fix It First’ program takes aim at road repair (Laing, K., The Hill, Feb. 13, 2013)

LaHood praises Obama State of the Union transportation push (Laing, K., The Hill, Feb. 13, 2013)

America Needs Infrastructure

The United States has a huge infrastructure for transportation, energy and water.  It is expensive to keep it in good shape to, not to mention upgrading it to meet new demands.  Below is a list of links to recent posts and articles on the subject of our degrading infrastructure and what it will cost to fix it.

 Want America to be Great Again? Pay for it (Jones, P., Time, Apr. 18, 2017)

It’s Disturbingly Common For Americans To Go Days Without Safe Drinking Water (Erbentraut, J., Huffington Post, May 23, 2016)

Obama’s Big Pitch for Infrastructure Falls Short (Pianin, E., & Ehley, B., Fiscal Times, July 28,2013)

Blue-Ribbon Panel Reveals Shaky State of NJ's Water, Gas, Power, and Transportation Infrastructures (Johnson, T., NJ Spotlight, Mar. 4, 2013)

Performance of power grid slips even as Americans pay more to maintain it; outages last longer (New York Times [Associated Press], Mar. 5, 2013)

Fixing America’s infrastructure: Obama’s mission impossible? (Debusmann, B., Daily Star, Feb. 15, 2013)

Governments Look for New Ways to Pay for Roads and Bridges (Schwartz, J., New York Times, Jan 14, 2013)

No easy funding fix for U.S. transportation woes –lawmaker (Palmer, D., Reuters, Feb. 13, 2013)

U.S. cities face deluge of water system costs, threats to funds (Reuters, Feb. 15, 2013)

Water bills: how much are they increasing by? (Sedghi, A., Guardian DataBlog, Feb. 5, 2013)

Infrastructure Needs in America (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 7, 2012)

American Reinvestment and Recovery Act News

$1 of Highway Spending Creates $2 of Economic Activity (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 4, 2012)

Recovery Act: Most DOE Cleanup Projects Are Complete, but Project Management Guidance Could Be Strengthened (Government Accountability Office, Oct. 15, 2012)

GSA REPORT: OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BROKE STIMULUS RULES TO BUY CHINESE SOLAR PANELS (Hayward, J., Human Events, Sept. 25, 2012)

Feds ignore rules and use stimulus cash to buy Chinese solar panels (McElhatton, J., Washington Times, Sept. 17, 2012)

FL: Millions in fraud, waste rampant in federal energy stimulus, reveals state audit (Ossowski, Y., FloridaWatchdog.org, July 26, 2012)

Improving the Timeliness of Grant Closeouts by Federal Agencies and other Grant Management Challenges (Government Accountability Office, July 25, 2012)

Transportation Sec. LaHood jabs Republican critics of stimulus (Yokley, E., PoliticMo, July 10, 2012)

New Chair of Recovery Board Appointed (Recovery.gov, Dec. 27, 2011)

News about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Infrastructure Watch, Sept. 14, 2011)

Obama Hopes ‘Recovery Summer’ Will Warm Voters to the Stimulus (Cooper, M., New York Times, June 18, 2010)

National Infrastructure Bank Proposal

It may seem hard to believe, but I’m a little tired of writing about infrastructure bank proposals. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy after my vacation. At any rate, if you’re interested in learning more about President Obama’s proposal, check out these posts, articles and commentaries.

Assessing Obama's Infrastructure Plan (Madigan, T., National Journal)
The Case for an Infrastructure Bank (Rohatyn, F., Wall Street Journal)
What is the National Infrastructure Bank? (Itkowitz, C., Morning Call)
Would a National Infrastructure Bank Help? (Indiviglio, D., The Atlantic)