ATSSA Town Hall on Buy America guidelines set for Sept. 7 ATSSA Town Hall on Buy America guidelines set for Sept. 7 Virtual event will offer insights to help members prepare for enactment Pam / Wednesday, August 30, 2023 0 4040 Article rating: No rating Get ready for enactment of the new Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) guidelines by attending ATSSA’s free virtual Town Hall on Sept. 7. Speakers will address questions on the recently released guidance for the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA). The virtual Town Hall panel will include ATSSA Director of Federal Government Relations Cameron Greene and Kathy Ruffalo, president of Ruffalo & Associates, a Washington-based advocacy and consulting firm. Ruffalo has significant transportation and infrastructure experience at both the federal and state levels. Registration is now open. Read more
Final ‘Buy America’ guideline published, starting 60-day clock to enactment Final ‘Buy America’ guideline published, starting 60-day clock to enactment Pam / Thursday, August 24, 2023 0 5401 Article rating: No rating The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Wednesday published the final guideline for the Build America, Buy America Act, starting a 60-day countdown to its enactment. Included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), this expansion of the Buy America program led to the inclusion of a number of materials and products used and manufactured by ATSSA members. ATSSA’s Government Relations Team provides a summary of the most important sections of the 162-page guidance and will continue to update ATSSA members as more information becomes available. ATSSA also will be holding a virtual town hall on this topic on Sept. 7. Read more
Final guidance issued on ‘Buy America’ policy Final guidance issued on ‘Buy America’ policy Pam / Wednesday, August 16, 2023 0 4067 Article rating: 5.0 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the final guidance related to the Build America, Buy America Act provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This final guidance includes comparisons to the initial guidance from OMB from April of 2022 and responses to comments submitted to the OMB Request for Information from earlier this year. The IIJA expanded current Buy America requirements for infrastructure projects, including the addition of construction materials as a covered category. The final OMB guidance directly responds to specific concerns raised by ATSSA. Read more
House committee releases draft of FAA reauthorization bill House committee releases draft of FAA reauthorization bill Pam / Friday, June 9, 2023 0 3624 Article rating: No rating The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee today released its draft reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The bipartisan Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act would reauthorize the FAA aviation infrastructure and safety programs for the next five fiscal years, with a total investment of around $103 billion over the lifespan of the bill. At ATSSA’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in February, the Government Relations Committee approved a policy allowing for the Association to get engaged with this reauthorization, with a specific focus on increased investment on airfield and curbside infrastructure. The bill released earlier today would provide $20 billion in grant funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The AIP is the main grant program responsible for funding airfield and access road focused infrastructure safety projects. The full list of AIP eligible projects is available online. Read more
ATSSA CEO urges FHWA to update MUTCD by May 15 ATSSA CEO urges FHWA to update MUTCD by May 15 Tetschner sends letter seeking 11th edition of MUTCD by deadline Pam / Tuesday, May 2, 2023 0 5148 Article rating: No rating ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner today sent a letter to Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailen P. Bhatt urging the FHWA to publish the updated Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) by the deadline set forth in the U.S. Code. “On behalf of the American Traffic Safety Services Association’s (ATSSA) 1,500 member companies, I write to urge the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to publish the 11th edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) by the May 15th deadline required under Section 109(d)(2) of title 23, United States Code,” Tetschner wrote in today’s letter. Read more
ATSSA submits comments on Buy America manufacturing products waiver ATSSA submits comments on Buy America manufacturing products waiver Association ‘strongly urges’ continuation of public interest waiver Pam / Thursday, April 20, 2023 0 6014 Article rating: No rating ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner this week submitted comments to the Federal Register on the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Review of its General Applicability Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Manufactured Products. “ATSSA strongly urges FHWA to continue the current public interest waiver for manufactured products that do not contain iron or steel,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said in the ATSSA submission. “Especially with the challenge of increasing traffic fatalities in recent years, it is not an appropriate time to potentially hamstring the ability to deploy life-saving devices and countermeasures on U.S. roadways when the [U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)] and state and local agencies are aggressively moving to combat these fatalities. “If, however, FHWA proposes to alter the current waiver, ATSSA strongly encourages FHWA to continue to exempt transportation products that are incorporated into highway safety improvement projects as defined in 23 U.S.C. 148, regardless of federal program funding source.” Read more
House Transportation & Infrastructure Chair addresses ATSSA Legislative Briefing & Fly-In House Transportation & Infrastructure Chair addresses ATSSA Legislative Briefing & Fly-In NTSB chair discusses her focus on roadway safety in remarks to members Pam / Wednesday, April 19, 2023 0 4372 Article rating: No rating WASHINGTON – House Transportation & Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves commended ATSSA members on Tuesday for investing the time to take their roadway safety insights to Capitol Hill to share with legislators. “These are very important,” he said of Fly-Ins. “When constituents come talk to members of Congress, it makes a difference.” Graves (R-MO) was one of four public officials who spoke on the first day of the two-day Legislative Briefing & Fly-In. ATSSA members also heard from Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy. Read more
Register at Convention to play a role in advocating for roadway safety Register at Convention to play a role in advocating for roadway safety ATSSA’s Legislative Briefing & Fly-In set for April 18-19 in the nation’s capital Pam / Wednesday, February 15, 2023 0 5258 Article rating: No rating ATSSA’s 2023 Legislative Briefing & Fly-In offers members the opportunity to play a role in advocating for roadway safety at the national level. This annual event, which is an exclusive member benefit, takes place April 18-19 in Washington, D.C. Members will have the opportunity to deliver roadway safety solutions to the Capitol Hill offices of lawmakers and their staffs, who craft policy that affects the roadway safety infrastructure industry for years to come. Both House and Senate office buildings are fully open to visitors this year. The 2023 Legislative Briefing & Fly-In coincides with National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), which will be held April 17-21 and has the theme, “You play a role in work zone safety. Work With Us.” Read more
ATSSA congratulates Crawford on leading Highways & Transit Subcommittee ATSSA congratulates Crawford on leading Highways & Transit Subcommittee Pam / Monday, January 30, 2023 0 7683 Article rating: No rating ATSSA congratulates Rep. Eric A. “Rick” Crawford, R-Ark., on his selection as chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. “We look forward to working with six-term Congressman Crawford in his new role as chair of this important subcommittee,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “Chair Crawford is a veteran of the subcommittee and we look forward to partnering with him in support of the vital work of the roadway safety infrastructure industry and advancing roadway safety across the country. In his new role, Chair Crawford can help save lives on the nation’s roadways.” Crawford issued the following statement regarding his selection as chair and the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which became law in November 2021. “An efficient and safe highway system is critical to America’s competitiveness in the global economy and a vital component of our national security,” he said. “I look forward to providing vigorous oversight of IIJA to ensure that those funds are spent on projects that are priorities for states and local government.” Read more
ATSSA joins groups petitioning Bhatt to rescind IIJA policy memo ATSSA joins groups petitioning Bhatt to rescind IIJA policy memo Pam / Wednesday, January 18, 2023 0 5822 Article rating: No rating ATSSA joined 17 organizations today in asking Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailen Bhatt to rescind the “Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America” memorandum that was issued Dec. 16, 2021. The groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noted they supported the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in November 2021 and that it was a “carefully negotiated and balanced package of policy reforms and targeted national investments” to make the lives of Americans better. The issue leading to the request for the policy to be rescinded was that the Dec. 16 memo “elicited significant confusion within the transportation community.” Further, the letter states that the memo was “intended to serve as an overarching policy framework that prioritizes IIJA resources towards certain projects, which was inconsistent with what was laid out under the legislation President Biden signed into law the month before.” Read more