With talks stalled on a multiyear Federal Aviation Administration bill, the Senate and House have approved another stopgap authorization. After the bill cleared Congress, President Obama signed it on May 31. The new bill extends Airport Improvement Program construction grants and other FAA programs through June 30. It is the 19th FAA stopgap since September 2007, when the last long-term aviation bill expired.
Leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee—two Democrats and two Republicans—have taken the first major action this year toward passing a long-delayed multiyear surface transportation bill. Industry officials welcomed the May 25 announcement that the four lawmakers had agreed on a framework for a $339.2-billion highway-transit measure that could stretch to as long as six years. But the plan is a long way from getting enacted. The senators haven’t lined up firm sources for all the funding, and a not-yet-introduced House version may well come in far south of $339 billion. Construction officials praised the milestone proposal, announced
A bipartisan group of four key senators has reached agreement on the outline of a six-year, $339.2-billion surface transportation measure. The deal was announced on May 25 by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), along with the committee's ranking Republican, James Inhofe (Okla.), transportation and infrastructure subcommittee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the subcommittee's ranking Republican, David Vitter (D-La.). The accord signifies progress on legislation long-awaited by the construction industry. But there is still a long way to go.And a critical element is missing: Funding a bill at the $339-billion level would require an infusion of
As the deadline draws nearer for passing a new surface transportation bill—or at least approving another extension—lawmakers are seeking ways to augment the shaky Highway Trust Fund. Highway and transit programs have been operating under short-term measures for nearly 20 months because Congress has been unable to produce a new, multiyear authorization. The latest stopgap measure expires on Sept. 30. Another deadline is looming sometime around fall 2012, when spending from the trust fund's highway account is projected to start exceeding its income. The Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the trust fund, “has already started to think creatively” about transportation
Budgets for 2012 construction programs will be pinched in the House. Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) on May 11 said 2012 nondefense spending would be cut $47.4 billion from 2011. He specified how funds will be split among subcommittees. The Transportation-Housing panel was cut $7.7 billion, or 14%. Most line-item levels haven’t been determined yet. House-Senate talks will set final figures.
Construction industry groups and some in Congress are objecting to a draft White House executive order that would require companies and executives to disclose their political contributions when they bid on federal contracts. Stephen Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors, said the plan would “create the mechanism for enforcing a political litmus test” for contractors. Mike Bellaman, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors, said the administration proposal “would politicize the bidding process and open the door to cronyism and malfeasance.” Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), the panel's top Republican, Susan Collins of
The Environmental Protection Agency soon will issue new guidance to regulators responsible for issuing permits for surface mining, says Nancy Stoner, EPA acting assistant administrator for water. Stoner told a House subcommittee on May 11 that the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing the new guidance, which will take note of input from EPA’s Science Advisory Board and replace April 2010 interim guidance. GOP members of the subcommittee said the environmental requirements of the interim guidance make it nearly impossible to get a coal mining permit and are costing jobs in Appalachia. Stoner said the guidance is not binding
With federal highway and transit dollars facing a tight squeeze, those drafting a new surface transportation bill are seeking to produce the biggest bang for a limited number of bucks. But how to measure which projects have the best payoff? Source: Pew Center on the States and The Rockefeller Foundation, 2011 Rating the States on Evaluating Highway, Transit Projects’ Impacts A Pew Center on the States-Rockefeller Foundation report, released on May 11, says only 13 states get top marks for goals, performance yardsticks and data to help their transportation officials set highway and transit spending priorities. The Federal Highway Administration
Rail projects on the Northeast Corridor were the major winners as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation redistributed $2 billion in aid Florida turned down earlier this year. The grants, announced on May 9, will fund about $1.7 billion in infrastructure. That will be good news for engineering and construction firms and ease the pain of Florida Gov. Rick Scott's move to cancel his state's rail plan.The Northeast got about $1 billion, mostly for the Washington-to-Boston corridor. Peter Gertler, chairman of transit and high-speed rail services for HNTB, says about 75% of previous DOT rail awards went to California, Florida and
The Internal Revenue Service has given design and construction firms a one-year reprieve from a contract-payment withholding requirement that industry contends would deal them a financial blow. The mandate stems from a provision of a 2006 statute that requires federal, state and local governments to withhold an amount equal to 3% of their payments to anyone providing them with goods or services. The mandate applies to agencies whose total annual spending on goods and services is $100 million or more. Individual payments of less than $10,000 would be exempt from the withholding requirement. The mandate originally was to take effect
