2018 Legislative Fly-In
Emphasizes Aviation & Water Resources Legislation
Team Alabama – Mark Barnett, Shelia Montgomery-Mills, Joe Meads,
Brad Williams and Kate Leonard.
On Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 210 ASCE members from 49 states, DC and Puerto Rico arrived on Capitol Hill to advocate for infrastructure and the civil engineering community. The Alabama Section Team had a great visit to Capitol Hill. The team was able to engage in discussions about infrastructure needs affecting the State of Alabama and the United States with the Alabama Congressional delegation and staff consisting of Representative Martha Roby, Representative Mo Brooks, Representative Terri Sewell, Representative Gary Palmer, Representative Bradley Byrne, Representative Mike Rogers, Senator Doug Jones and Senator Richard Shelby.
Armed with their everyday Civil Engineering experiences, issues briefings from the ASCE Government Relations team, and insight from keynote speakers, Fly-In attendees spent Wednesday afternoon advocating for aviation, water and water resources infrastructure as well as urging Members of Congress to draft a comprehensive infrastructure bill.
During Tuesday’s programs members received advocacy tips and tools from Brad Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and got an insider’s look at the various infrastructure proposals being debated by Congress from Jeff Davis, Senior Fellow and Editor, Eno Transportation Weekly at The Eno Center for Transportation.
Undersecretary for Transportation Policy Derek Kan kicked off the Wednesday morning program with a discussion of the Trump Administration’s infrastructure plan, and how the USDOT is progressing on a variety of issues including streamlining project decision making. Ken was followed by Reps. Garrett Graves (R-LA-5) and Elizabeth Esty (D-CT-5) who provided insights on what legislators hope to hear from constituents and how best to persuade their colleagues to support infrastructure funding.