A recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report indicates that the United States electric grid is still vulnerable to electromagnetic pulse attacks, despite recommendations made almost 8 years ago to reduce such an occurrence. The susceptibility of the grid to such a phenomenon is an out-of-the-box threat many regulators and policymakers…
By Shane Skelton, Executive Director The U.S. Public Private Partnership (P3) market is beginning to gain steam. As we pointed out in our Policy Brief, “Innovation in the P3 Marketplace,” states and localities across the country are becoming more creative in the types of infrastructure projects P3s are being used…
Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director Pipeline safety reauthorization legislation cleared another crucial hurdle on its way to the President’s desk on Wednesday when the U.S. House of Representatives (House) Committee on Energy & Commerce (Energy & Commerce) reported their version of the bill out of the full committee….
Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director Last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its most current Highway Trust Fund (HTF) baseline projecting that the fund would suffer a $107 billion cumulative shortfall by 2026. By almost any measure, this is bad news, but compared to other recent estimates,…
Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director Commercial and private drone use has become a frequent topic of discussion around the country and in Washington, DC these days. New regulations and registration requirements from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reports of close calls with air traffic, the desire to use…
By Brigham A. McCown, Chairman and Founder of Aii In a first step toward creating an integrated energy grid, the European Commission last week allocated € 200 million ($223 million) for cross-border energy infrastructure projects aimed at increasing the efficiency of energy transportation across European Union members. While these grants…
By Chanil De Silva, Director of Policy at Nouveau Inc. Innovation can be a wonderful thing, especially when it allows you to continue watching your favorite Netflix series while soaring 30,000 feet above the ground. In-flight Wi-Fi initially limited to certain domestic flights is available almost universally, on both domestic…
On March 31, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a new plan for the Lifeline subsidy, which will help the program’s recipients apply the subsidy to mobile or fixed broadband should they choose to do so. The program originated in 1985 to provide discounted landline phone service to low-income…
Written by Debra Cagan, Senior State Department Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins, SAIS One would think that with plunging oil and gas prices, with suppliers tripping over themselves to desperately gain market share in a flooded market, and more choices than ever in securing gas for the European…
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…
