January/February 2019

Communities: Government
Professional Engineers Win at Ballot Box

While the 2018 midterm elections brought mixed news for infrastructure initiatives nationwide, professional engineers on the ballot had reasons to celebrate. PEs in both national and state races came out on top.

PEs in the US Congress

Reps. Bruce Westerman, P.E. (R-AR) and David McKinley, P.E. (R-WV), the only two PEs in the US Congress, were both re-elected in November.

Westerman will serve his third term in the House. Before starting in politics, he spent 22 years as an engineer and forester at Mid-South Engineering in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He served on his local school board and then in the Arkansas General Assembly before being elected to the US House of Representatives in 2014.

The professional engineer has been a strong proponent for the role of the PE on federal projects, working closely with NSPE on this issue after a project team from the Environmental Protection Agency triggered the release of three million gallons of contaminated water from the Gold King Mine in Colorado in 2015.

As he stated at a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing, “professional engineers nationwide have called for improved standardized best practices that must be adhered to for all federal engineering projects.”

In 2017, Westerman cosponsored the Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act. Signed into law, it directed NASA to develop a plan for involving retired astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators in outreach with female K–12 students.

Westerman also recently backed a legislative amendment to expand the use of qualifications-based selection on federally funded airport projects. The amendment was part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s reauthorization bill, which was enacted in October.

As he previously told PE magazine, “An engineering background provides excellent qualifications, life experiences, and a disciplined work ethic to draw from in building support for the vision of a better future. I’ve learned to look through the political fog to see the real issues and rely on my background and training to develop vision and solutions to real issues.”

Rep. David McKinley, P.E., has represented West Virginia since 2011. An NSPE member since 1972, he founded A/E firm McKinley and Associates and ran it for 44 years. He also served on the board of directors for the West Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. He was a state delegate before he ran for federal office.

McKinley has been a leading voice in promoting engineering education. He played a key role in incorporating engineering skills and standards into the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act after years of work with NSPE on incorporating engineering design skills, concepts, and standards into K–12 education.

McKinley has also been supporting NSPE’s efforts to address safety concerns with autonomous vehicles—particularly the need for a requirement for third-party certification by someone in the decision chain who has a duty that puts public safety first (i.e., a professional engineer).

At a 2017 hearing, McKinley pointed to the safety concerns NSPE has been raising, saying “Engineers and technicians will eventually work out the technical difficulties, but I do believe we need to add another level of safety in this process. There will be tremendous profit-motive pressures…we need to have an independent process to verify [the software].”

Referring to the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, he added, “We know from history that when we try to rush things, mistakes happen.”

PEs in the States

Also re-elected in the 2018 midterm elections were the following state legislators:

• Rep. Dean Arp, P.E. (R, North Carolina House);
• Rep. Louis Blessing III, P.E. (R, Ohio House, NSPE member);
• Sen. Clyde Chambliss, P.E. (R, Alabama Senate);
• Rep. Rocky Miller, P.E. (R, Missouri House);
• Rep. Dennis Paul, P.E. (R, Texas House); and
• Rep. Kevin Vaughan, P.E. (R, Tennessee House).

Learn more about these PE legislators and read their tips for getting involved in public office.