Related Links: Construction Groups Say Obama Immigration Directive Will Slow Search for Legislative Fix (enr.com 11/20/2014) [subscription] Intensifying a dispute over federal immigration policy, the House has passed legislation that would cut off funding to implement President Obama’s 2014 immigration directives and end a two-year-old program that shields illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children from being deported.When Obama announced his plan last year, construction industry officials warned that the ensuing controversy could dim the Capitol Hill outlook for comprehensive legislation to revamp immigration policies. The new House immigration provisions are included in a bill funding the Dept. of
AP Wide World photo Biden wants proposed new infrastructure bond, other actions to help boost private sector's 3% share of total U.S. infrastructure investment. Related Links: White House fact sheet on new infrastructure proposals and plans Recommendations of interagency working group on infrastructure finance Obama Pushes for More Private Financing for Infrastructure (ENR 7/28/2014 issue) [subscription] The Obama administration has unveiled a new batch of proposals and initiatives aimed at drawing more private money to invest in U.S. infrastructure, with a particular focus on water projects.The new plans, announced on Jan. 16, flesh out President Obama’s Build America Investment Initiative,
Related Links: Construction Officials Urge Swift Passage of Terrorism Insurance Bill (enr.com 12/29/2014) Congressional Budget Office report on terrorism risk (01/06/2015) Ending a 12-day lapse in the federal terrorism-insurance backstop, President Obama has signed into law a bill that reinstates the program and extends it for six years.Obama signed the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) on Jan. 12, four days after the Senate had approved the measure by a strong 93-4 vote, shortly after the new Congress convened.The House on Jan. 7 also had passed the measure overwhelmingly, by 416 to 5.Industry officials had warned that if
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release and data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis The construction industry ended 2014 on a strong note, with a surge of 48,000 jobs in December, driving its unemployment rate down sharply from its year-earlier level, though it was up from November’s mark.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Jan. 9 that construction’s jobless rate last month was 8.3%, well below its 11.4% December 2013 rate. But the December unemployment rate was higher than November’s 7.5% as the industry’s work volume slowed with
Related Links: State Dept. release on Nuevo Laredo project State Dept. release on Matamoros project The State Dept. is moving ahead with plans for two new U.S. consulate complexes in Mexico, near the Texas border, continuing a program to improve some facilities and build new ones in a country where the U.S. consular operation is its largest in the world.The department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) announced on Jan. 2 that it had awarded a construction contract to B.L. Harbert International, Birmingham, Ala., for a consulate project in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. The department estimates the
Related Links: After Elections, Workplace-Organizing Bill Faces Longer Odds http://enr.construction.com/technology/information_technology/2010/1027-everifyissue.asp E-Verify Issue, Quiet for Now, Likely To Return After Elections KnottKatherine "Kelly" Knott, 45, a former lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors on employer issues, including immigration, labor relations and risk management, died on Dec. 3 in Alexandria, Va.The cause was breast cancer, according to an online obituary.From March 2001 to July 2011, Knott was an AGC congressional relations director. She spoke out on AGC member concerns, such as the need for comprehensive immigration reform and terrorism insurance.AGC Chief Executive Stephen Sandherr told ENR that Knott still kept up relationships
Photo Courtesy GSA / Benjamin Benschneider The Peace Arch Land Port of Entry redo in Blaine, Wash., includes 10 primary-inspection lanes and double the capacity of the 1976 facility. Related Links: $741M Overhaul of San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Burdened by Myriad Site Constraints After a funding lull, U.S. General Services Administration appropriations are bouncing back for "land ports of entry" projects.In the newly enacted spending bill for the rest of fiscal year 2015, GSA's account allotment for its new-construction includes $216.8 million for the San Ysidro project and $98.1 million for a port in Calexico, Calif. Those were
Related Links: Final new federal water resources Interagency Guidelines (released 12/17/2014). 1983 principles and guidelines for water resources The White House has released final federal interagency guidelines for evaluating planned water resources projects, the last piece of its five-year effort to rewrite the current, 31-year-old planning guide for the Corps of Engineers and three other agencies and broaden it to cover more agencies.But Congress, in the recently enacted “Cromnibus” spending package, has blocked the Corps from implementing the new water resources Principles, Requirements and Guidelines (PR&G) through the end of fiscal year 2015. The legislation doesn’t bar funding for other
President Obama’s surprise announcement that the U.S. will seek to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than 50 years includes a call for increased exports of building materials for housing and, down the road, also could provide export opportunities for U.S. construction-equipment manufacturers, industry officials say.
Shortly before adjourning for the year, the Senate approved retroactive extensions for a $41.6-billion package of tax breaks, including incentives for heavy-equipment purchases and renewable-energy projects, but lawmakers failed to extend the federal backup program for terrorism risks.The Senate passed a tax “extenders” measure by a 76-16 vote late on Dec. 16, sending the bill to the White House for President Obama’s expected signature. The House had cleared the measure on Dec. 3 by a wide margin.The legislation puts back into effect for all of 2014 a group of breaks that expired at the end of last year.The Association of
