LEGISLATIVE FLY-IN : 2024
For the second year I was fortunate enough to join up with about 300 fellow engineering advocates in Washington DC on behalf of ASCE and speak to our congressional delegations about the importance of infrastructure .
Previous legislative advocacy has focused on the primary need for funding , but thanks to much hard work in Washington with the passing of ARPA , IIJA , and other infrastructure plans , there has been more funding available . The primary concern and learning curve has now been associated with the dissemination of these funds . Ensuring there is ample documentation proving appropriate spending but not too much red-tape and paperwork to the point of impeding the process is a difficult balancing act .
Owen Friend-Gray ASCE-NH Past President ofriend @ manchesternh . gov
I was fortunate enough to meet directly with Congressman Chris Pappas as well as representatives from Senator Shaheen ’ s , Senator Hassan ’ s and Congresswoman Kuster ’ s offices . These meetings all went extremely well and everyone I spoke with understood our concerns and wanted to help . It was a good opportunity for a New Hampshire native and engineering practitioner to provide some personal insights into how these funds and the benefits have been assisting us all .
Overall I was extremely pleased I went and was able to establish personal relationships with some key players which I know will benefit ASCE and ASCE-NH in the long run . I am happy to discuss this in more detail , so feel free to reach out anytime !