09/2003 | Civil Engineers Call
For Presidential Commission |
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The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on September 4 called for establishment of a presidential commission on infrastructure to address the deteriorating conditions of our nation’s roads, bridges, drinking water systems, schools, and other public works. This call for action was announced as the group released its “2003 Progress Report for America’s Infrastructure.” The report reveals that little has improved since the nation’s infrastructure received an overall “D+” on ASCE’s 2001 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, while the cost for infrastructure renewal has escalated from $1.3 trillion over a five-year period in 2001 to $1.6 trillion over a five-year period in 2003. In fact, the engineering organization says that little progress has been made since a Reagan-era commission on infrastructure first formed nearly 20 years ago. In the mid-80s, President Ronald Reagan’s commission, concluding that the state of America’s infrastructure was a “C” in their 1988 report, “Fragile Foundations: A Report on America’s Infrastructure,” fired the first public warnings that America’s infrastructure was in decline. Schools not improving Many school districts have mandated a lower student-to-teacher ratio in an effort to improve test scores. In Florida, a statewide constitutional amendment now limits class sizes causing the Hillsborough County school district to put a freeze on moving dilapidated portable classrooms from school property. The ASCE report points out that there has been no new comprehensive needs assessment since the last report card, and although funding and attention on the schools issue has increased, the problems remain unsolved. Although funding is a state and local function, federal educational standards and mandates on classroom size do have costs, so ASCE believes that the federal government should do more to assist locals with school maintenance. They recommend enacting the America’s Better Classroom Act of 2003 (H.R. 930 & S. 856), which allows tax credits to pay the interest on school modernization bonds. Coordinated approach needed Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page |
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