Related Links: Fiscal Year 2013 Looks Rough for Construction Spending (ENR 6/4/12) Federal Construction Funding Is Growing Tighter (ENR 3/26/12) With fiscal year 2013 appropriations bills on a slow pace in Congress, few, if any, of the 12 measures that fund various federal agencies are expected to be enacted by Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year begins. That means Congress will turn again to a continuing resolution (CR). "Otherwise, the government shuts down," says Jeffrey Shoaf, Associated General Contractors senior executive director for government affairs. "No one wants that four weeks before the election." That CR could extend past
For the second time in 18 months, the House has passed a bill to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, whose provisions have begun to revamp the U.S. health-care system.
ENR staff Some Big BRAC Increases Related Links: GAO June 29 report on BRAC 2005 round's costs BRAC: Total Cost 48% Higher Than Initial Estimate (ENR 4/29/09) The cost of the Dept. of Defense's 2005 base closure round has ended up much higher than planners initially estimated. Increased construction expenses were the major factor, says a Government Accountability Office report.The GAO study, released on June 29, says the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission estimated the program's construction and other up-front costs at $21 billion. But in 2011, the 2005 round's final year, DOD pegged those costs at $35.1
Photo by AP Wideworld Obama's signature ends a long wait for a new transportation statute. It also launches the next stage: converting funds into projects. Related Links: Transportation Bill Negotiations Head to the Wire PDF of MAP-21 Bill As a standing-room-only crowd of lawmakers, construction and transportation officials, and others in the White House's East Room looked on, President Obama on July 6 signed into law a long-overdue $104.4-billion, 27-month highway-and-transit authorization bill. Putting down the last of the 12 pens he used to sign his name, Obama said, "All right. It's done," to a round of applause from the
The status of a highly publicized $3-billion bridge-and-road program, seen as an economic driver for the impoverished nation of Bangladesh, remains unclear after the World Bank canceled a $1.2-billion credit, citing the government's "inadequate response" to charges of corruption on the project.
Related Links: Time line of OSHA actions related to 2005 BP refinery explosion OSHA Slaps BP With Record Fine For Not Fixing Blast Hazards (ENR 11/4/09) Energy giant BP has agreed to pay an additional $13 million to settle more than 400 U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations for alleged willful safety violations at the company’s Texas City, Texas, refinery.The agreement, announced on July 12, is the latest development in the wake of a March 2005 explosion at the refinery that killed 15 workers—all of whom worked for Jacobs Engineering Group and Fluor Corp., contractors at the facility at
Related Links: Text of House-Senate conference report Ending more than 33 months of transportation funding via stopgap bills, President Obama has signed into law a new $104-billion highway and transit authorization measure.With key lawmakers as well as construction and transportation group leaders in attendance, Obama signed the long-delayed bill on July 6 in a brief ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The measure—titled MAP-21, for Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century—funds surface-transportation programs through September 2014.The new statute's roughly 27-month span gives state agencies and construction-industry companies more of the funding certainty they have sought
Related Links: BLS press release w/data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's analysis The construction industry’s June unemployment rate declined to 12.8% from May’s 14.2%, as the industry gained 2,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.The latest BLS monthly statistics, released on July 6, also showed that construction’s jobless rate last month was down significantly from the June 2011 level of 15.6%. The rates are not adjusted for seasonal variations.Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors chief economist, says that even counting the jobs gained last month, total construction employment “has essentially been stagnant
The status of a highly-showcased $3-billion bridge and road program in Bangladesh, seen as an economic driver for the impoverished nation, remains unclear after the World Bank canceled a $1.2-billion credit, citing the government’s “inadequate response” to charges of corruption on the project.
Related Links: GSA Plans Unusual Buildings Deal in L.A. Capitol Hill Flap Over Earlier Courthouse Plan The U.S. General Services Administration has proposed an unusual solution to a costly federal facilities problem in downtown Los Angeles.Under the plan, which GSA Acting Administrator Daniel Tangherlini outlined in a June 22 letter to members of California's congressional delegation, GSA will seek a private development firm to which it will transfer the New Deal-era North Spring Street federal courthouse. If GSA were to keep the building for federal use, it would need a $250-million overhaul.To acquire the 74-year-old courthouse, the developer would build
