Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) "an investment that will benefit our country for decades."

Responding to the growing shortage of engineers, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
(D-MO) plans to introduce "GI Bill style" legislation as an incentive for young people entering the engineering profession.

The bill will create new scholarships and loan forgiveness for engineering students who are working toward their P.E. license.

The Congressman has developed this legislation in consultation with ACEC.

"My district is home to some of our nation's largest engineering firms. I have heard from them first hand about the desperate need to fill hundreds of vacancies with qualified engineers. Recent infrastructure catastrophes have brought home what we all already knew; engineers play a vital role in keeping us all safe," said Congressman Cleaver. "America's young minds are the future. This legislation will help support engineering students as they complete an education for an industry that will always be in demand. This is an investment that will benefit our country for decades."

According to the National Science Foundation, the number of people earning bachelor's degrees in engineering has declined dramatically since the early 1980s. In addition, over one-quarter of the science and engineering workforce is older than 50 and expected to retire in the next 15 years.

Former ACEC Chairman Ed Mulcahy, who worked closely with the Congressman's staff in developing the legislation said: "Congressman Cleaver is taking a critical leadership role in addressing a serious problem that hurts both the industry and the nation's economy. The entire industry needs to rally behind him when this important legislation is introduced."

For more information, contact Katharine Mottley, ACEC's Director of Tax and Regulatory Affairs at 202-347-7474 or kmottley@acec.org.

Alaska ACEC/PAC Champion Floyd Damron

ACEC/Alaska and ACEC/Wyoming reached their 2007 ACEC/PAC fundraising goals this week.

They become the 8th and 9th Member Organizations to reach their 2007 goals, joining Arizona, Kentucky, Montana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Kansas and South Carolina. A number of other states are making strong runs to meet the year-end deadline.

"Ensuring that we have a strong political voice in Washington is particularly critical right now," said Alaska ACEC/PAC Champion Floyd Damron of CH2M HILL, who has spearheaded successful fundraising drives in the state every year since goals were first established. "We won't win on the legislative front if we don't have an equally aggressive political program, and that's why continued support for ACEC/PAC is so important to our Alaska members."

Mark Bernhardt (center) of Burgess and Niple, and ACEC Government Affairs Vice President Steve Hall (right) greet Congressman David Wu (D-OR), chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology's Technical and Innovation Subcommittee, prior to a hearing this week on the safety of critical infrastructure. Bernhardt testified before the full committee on behalf of ACEC on current and future bridge inspection technology.

ACEC testified at a House hearing this week on the safety of critical infrastructure, emphasizing the role of emerging technologies to enhance bridge safety nationwide.

Chaired by Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN), the Committee on Science and Technology examined current research and new technologies to improve the safety of the nation's bridges following the recent collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota.

"In my home state of Tennessee, 37 bridges were found to be deficient by a Road Improvement Survey in 2005," said Congressman Gordon. "My colleagues on the Committee could all share similar statistics. Clearly, the disaster that struck Minnesota could have happened anywhere. This is a wakeup call that we need to be doing more to strengthen and secure our bridges now and for the long term."

Mark Bernhardt, director of Facility Inspection with ACEC-member firm Burgess & Niple in Ohio, delivered testimony on behalf of the Council. He was joined by witnesses from the Federal Highways Administration, AASHTO, and the academic sector.

Bernhardt briefed the panel on current inspection techniques and technologies. He also discussed the value of Structure Health Monitoring, a technology that utilizes instrumentation such as strain gauges, fiber optics, cameras and corrosion sensors that provide decision makers more reliable, real-time information to monitor and respond to problems with bridge structures. "The structural condition data, combined with operational "risk-based" factors such as traffic counts, can be used to determine optimum prioritization of bridge repairs,” he said.

Click here for a copy of Bernhardt's complete testimony.