ATSSA congratulates Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) on being chosen to chair the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee in the 118^th Congress.

“ATSSA members have counted Chairman Graves as a roadway safety leader throughout his tenure on the T&I Committee and we look forward to his continued emphasis on this critical issue now that he is chair,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “We are eager to work with him and his committee staff in the months and years ahead to ensure that roadway safety remains the top priority for Congress and the Biden administration.”

Graves’ selection was announced by the committee today. He confirmed his priority for roadway safety and infrastructure in his comments included with the announcement.

Helping achieve the industry goal of zero deaths on the nation’s roadways involves educating a range of groups from prospective partners to the general public.

Register now for the fifth and final session of ATSSA’s free Worker Safety Webinar series to gain skills to help you present your case. The Dec. 6 webinar starts at 2 p.m.

“Sharing Safety: Marketing and Partnerships to Create Safer Streets” will be led by Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, and a member of ATSSA’s Roadway Worker Protection Council. Participants will learn how to tell compelling stories about the work they are doing and leverage partnerships to increase awareness of roadway workers and the work they are doing and goals they seek to achieve. 

One week after Election Day, we finally have a good idea of what the next two years will look like on Capitol Hill.

While long thought that this year’s midterm elections would bring a “red wave” across the country, in the end Democrats were able to hold their ground in several swing states and remain in control of the Senate, while narrowly losing the House of Representatives to Republicans.

Even with the Senate race in Georgia headed to a run-off next month, Democrats know they will be in control of the Senate at least until 2024. They currently control 50 votes, plus Vice President Kamala Harris would provide a 51^st vote in the event the Senate stays 50-50 as it was prior to the election.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host an executive-level virtual rollout of the Every Day Counts (EDC) program round 7 innovations on Dec. 2. 

These innovations will build upon the already significant legacy of EDC and support FHWA’s efforts to drive innovation around three core priorities:

• Improving safety for all road users;
• Building sustainable infrastructure for the future; and
• Growing an inclusive workforce.

EDC is a state-based program that identifies and rapidly deploys proven, yet underutilized innovations that make our transportation system adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. Proven innovations promoted through EDC facilitate greater efficiency at the State, Local and Tribal levels, saving time, money and resources to ensure our infrastructure is built better, faster, and smarter.

Register now to attend on Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Executive Session is open to everyone.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will not extend its current one-year implementation delay of Buy America changes for construction materials stemming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, the department announced.

USDOT will begin enforcing the new Buy America requirements for construction materials on Thursday, according to a "notice of expiration" posted online. The notice included several concurrent and related actions USDOT is taking related to implementation.