Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director For the many Americans who still begrudge the major societal shift from cash to credit and debit cards, the future may become even more troublesome as mobile wallets become more common. What’s more, is that while mobile wallets are still catching on, a…
Originally posted on the Washington Post. Even before the Coast Guard helicopter got airborne that morning, the crew could see the glow from the fire on the horizon, 40 miles away. Two ships, one of them a fully loaded oil tanker, had collided in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Tex….
Last August, we released a rail safety report, “Back on Track: Bringing Rail Safety into the 21st Century,” which focused on technologies and best practices that if incorporated would improve passenger and freight rail safety. At the time we noted that we wanted to kick start a conversation on the…
Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director On February 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure held a hearing titled, “A Review of United States Army Corps of Engineers Reports to Congress on Future Water Resources Development and Chief’s Reports.” The hearing was held in anticipation…
In a new twist to a long running solar energy battle, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of Nevada denied a provision to grandfather approximately 17,000 solar customers into the original utility rate and voted to keep the new metering policy in place. Solar advocates can claim a small victory in…
On December 2, 2015, the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a markup (vote) on a discussion draft bill aimed at facilitating the deployment of broadband Internet service. Among other things, the bill aimed to remove barriers to broadband access by…
A contribution by Chanil N. De Silva; Policy Director at Nouveau Inc. High-speed Internet had in the past been associated with affluence, while many households used dial-up modems and many more had no Internet access at all. Over time, the Internet – initially developed as a defense resource – has become…
Read the full report here. Aii released a new report today, “The Jones Act: Protectionism v Global Trade,” calling the Jones Act outdated and inconsistent especially as the United States is entering new global markets and removing longstanding barriers to trade. The Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act…
Read full article here. Aii’s Executive Director, Shane Skelton was published in this month’s issue of Public Sector Digest. The article titled, “Tackling the Infrastructure Deficit: Using Private Dollars for Public Projects,” proposes alternative methods for funding the nation’s crucial infrastructure projects.
A contribution by Chanil N. De Silva; Director of Policy at Nouveau Inc. The NTSB released its annual “Most Wanted” transportation safety improvements for 2016. The list covers aviation, highway, marine, rail and pipeline networks and has been called a “roadmap from lessons learned to lives saved”. This year’s list…
Reducing, and eventually eliminating, instances of excavation damage should be the underlying goal of every Damage Prevention program. There are a number of parties involved in every excavation project – facility owners and operators, locate companies, One Call centers, and excavators. Plus, there are multiple governmental bodies and industry groups…
On December 4th, President Obama signed a $305 billion highway bill marking a large victory for Congress and the White House. To the casual observer, it may seem as though infrastructure legislation can finally be put in the rear view mirror for another half decade – this is not so….
Watch this video on vimeo. Aii released a new video highlighting remarks from its recent policy discussion on Capitol Hill. The forum, hosted on December 1st, examined infrastructure connectivity f the European Union and resulting implications on U.S. energy policy. The panel featured representatives from Eastern and Central Europe and…
A contribution by Chanil N. De Silva; Director of Policy at Nouveau Inc. President Obama signed a five-year, $305 billion, surface-transportation funding bill into law on Friday December 4th. The bill, known as the FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act) is the first long-term transportation-funding bill since 2005. The…
The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure hosted an expert panel discussion on European energy connectivity and its impact on U.S. energy policy decisions in the U.S. Capitol on December 1st. The experts throughout the event underscored the significant role America can play in alleviating the EU’s infrastructure challenges and particularly…
