Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020 - 10

LEGISLATIVEACTION

ACEC Launches
Rescue/Recover/
Rebuild Advocacy
Campaign

PINKOMELET / GETTY IMAGES

CEC has launched its virtual grassroots
advocacy campaign urging Congress to
focus its COVID-19 recovery efforts on
an infrastructure-based recovery legislative
agenda.
The central message of ACEC's advocacy
program is based on how a significant
investment in the nation's physical and
critical infrastructure is essential to unlock America's postpandemic economic recovery. The program's theme of Rescue/
Recover/Rebuild underscores the interconnection between
economic growth and modern, future-looking infrastructure
investment.

Senate Committee Clears
ACEC-Backed Water
Infrastructure Legislation

"COVID-19 will change the way Americans interact with
the built environment for the foreseeable future, and our
infrastructure must adapt to meet the challenges of the 'new
normal,'" says Linda Bauer Darr, president and CEO of ACEC.
Charlie Gozdziewski, chairman of ACEC, adds, "Congress
should seize this opportunity and pass an infrastructure-focused
recovery bill that not only jump-starts job creation but prepares
America to lead in a post-pandemic economy."
The House and Senate already have the building blocks
in place to create an infrastructure-based recovery agenda.
Both chambers are moving their respective water and surface
infrastructure reauthorization bills at the committee level.
The next step involves leadership from House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and President
Donald Trump to fast-track these bills into a package to serve as
the foundation for the next recovery bill.
America's engineering industry plays a central role in
designing the built environment. In the near future, ACEC
Member Firm Leaders will reach out to their elected officials
and congressional leaders through virtual meetings, social
media, phone calls, and emails to urge support for an
infrastructure-first recovery agenda.
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ENGINEERING INC.

SPRING 2020

ater is a critical
piece of ACEC's
recovery agenda,
and legislation
advancing in the House and
Senate creates an opportunity for passage before the
end of the year.
The Senate Committee
on Environment and
Public Works unanimously
approved the America's
Water Infrastructure Act
of 2020 and the Drinking
Water Infrastructure Act
of 2020. These measures
authorize new U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers navigation, flood control, and other
water resource projects, as
well as increased funding
authority for the water and
wastewater State Revolving
Fund (SRF) programs. The
bills increase funding for the

Water Infrastructure Finance
and Innovation Act program
to incentivize private investment in water, and include
provisions to enhance resilience, response to emerging
contaminants, and other
challenges.
The House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee
has already passed H.R. 1497,
the Water Quality Protection
and Job Creation Act of 2019,
a bipartisan bill to authorize
about $16.7 billion over five
years, of which $14 billion
would be for the Clean Water
SRF program. The committee is expected to release
its own Corps of Engineers
projects bill in the coming
weeks, which will likely serve
as a vehicle for passing additional water-related priorities,
including H.R. 1497.

https://programs.acec.org/rescuerecoverrebuild/

Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020

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