“A new report was released that outlines innovative new ways that the federal government, industry and other stakeholders can work together to solve the crisis of the failing state of U.S. infrastructure. Entitled Making The Grade, the report is the result of experts from 45 different organizations, including corporations, professional organizations, think tanks, financial advisors and academic institutions. It offers a six-point plan with fresh ideas to regain America’s infrastructure leadership and revive the country’s global competitiveness.

“Rarely have I read a document in which the words more powerfully complement the purpose – this is a true blueprint for the work that will lead our country forward, creating real value now and for the next generation – by ‘regaining’ and ‘sustaining’ public infrastructure leadership.”

The report’s name is intended as a rallying cry in response to last year’s quadrennial report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which gave America’s overall infrastructure a D+ grade. The ASCE estimates that US$3.6 trillion must be invested by 2020 to make critically needed upgrades and expansions of national infrastructure — and avoid trillions of dollars in lost business sales, exports, disposable income and GDP. While much has been written and discussed about the problem, Making the Grade provides substantive recommendations and workable solutions to help meet today’s and tomorrow’s infrastructure needs. The report’s six-point recommendations include: 1) Making infrastructure a cabinet-level priority; 2) Forming U.S. infrastructure regions; 3) Establishing a national infrastructure bank; 4) Selling “opportunity” bonds; 5) Creating a national infrastructure index and 6) Engaging the American people to build support for the importance of infrastructure policy. Collectively, these recommendations apply modern tools, technologies, approaches and fresh thinking to offer a new vision and path forward for the way U.S. infrastructure should be planned, financed, designed and built.”