Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), acknowledging that he lacks the votes to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, has decided to pursue narrower legislation. At press time, Reid was poised to introduce a scaled-back measure that he hopes will move to the Senate floor before the August recess. He says, “This is not the only energy legislation we’re going to do. This is what we can do now.” Reid’s bill has five elements: holding BP “accountable” for the Gulf oil spill; incentives for converting diesel-fueled heavy trucks to natural-gas power; rebates to spur energy-efficient improvements in homes; spending
It would take $77.7 billion in capital spending to bring U.S. transit systems to a “state of good repair,” the Federal Transit Administration estimates. A study, released on July 21 by FTA, says that rail accounts for $59.2 billion of the total, including $42.7 billion for heavy rail. Bus and other non-rail systems comprise the rest. FTA says it would take $18.3 billion annually for 20 years to achieve overall good-repair condition. Reaching that level over six years would require $27.3 billion a year. Just addressing “normal replacement needs” would cost $14.4 billion, the agency says. Hitting any of those
Transportation groups are cheering a Senate proposal to target aid for multimodal infrastructure to move goods. The Focusing Resources, Economic Investment and Guidance to Help Transportation Act, introduced on July 22 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), would direct the Dept. of Transportation to develop and implement a long-term strategic plan for freight and create a freight planning and development office at DOT.
In one of the most important federal construction safety actions in years, the Labor Dept.'s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a sweeping new rule aimed at reducing deaths and injuries involving construction cranes. OSHA says that the rule, released July 28, will affect about 267,000 construction and crane rental companies and certification organizations that together employ about 4.8 million workers. The 1,070-page revised standard for Cranes and Derricks in Construction replaces a 1971 regulation and is "long overdue," says Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Most provisions of the new rule will take effect Nov. 8. One key provision, a
Conceding that they lack the votes--at least for now--to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, Senate Democrats instead will propose narrower legislation. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said July 22 that he soon will introduce a scaled-back measure that includes more accountability for oil spills and a handful of other targeted provisions. After meeting with his fellow Senate Democrats, Reid told reporters that there are no Republican votes at present to support a wide-ranging energy measure. Reid said that "in the next few days" he will introduce a four-part energy package and that it would move to the Senate
An interim rule issued on July 8 by the Obama Administration requires certain federal contractors to report the total compensation of their highest-paid executives and first-tier subcontractors’ top managers. The requirement will phase in through March 2011. The rule also requires federal contractors grossing $300,000 or more in the last tax year to report first-tier subcontract awards. That mandate took effect immediately.
The White House’s latest quarterly American Recovery and Reinvestment Act update, released on July 14, estimates the legislation created or preserved between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs as of June 30. Those figures are up from an estimated 2.2 million to 2.8 million ARRA jobs as of March 31. The report says stimulus-act transportation infrastructure jobs rose 17% in the quarter, to 102,000. Building construction jobs climbed 32%, to 80,200. Still, the construction industry’s June jobless rate was 20.1%, remaining the worst among industry sectors. The report also says ARRA outlays for infrastructure and other “public investment” totaled $86.3
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation on July 14 held the last of six town-hall meetings to gather opinions about what the long-delayed successor to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, should look like. For months, industry officials have been waiting for DOT to release its “principles” for a new multiyear bill. DOT officials heard views from a range of groups but didn’t announce the principles. One participant, American Highway Users Alliance CEO Greg Cohen, told ENR, “Hopefully [the meeting] will lead to no further delays on an administration principles document.” Since SAFETEA-LU
As legislation revamping federal financial regulation goes on the books, attention will turn to the Federal Reserve, Treasury Dept. and other agencies that will draft rules fleshing out how the mammoth measure will be implemented. Construction will watch whether banks react to the bill’s increased regulation and higher fees by tightening up on credit. Photo: Office Of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd Dodd, the measure’s primary Senate architect, says, “The arguments about the shrinking of credit availabilty are hyperbole.” Lenders’ responses may vary. The legislation sets tougher restrictions on big money-center banks than it does on smaller, community banks, which are
A major revision of federal financial regulations has cleared its final congressional hurdle, with the Senate's approval on July 15 of the wide-ranging measure. The bill, named for its main authors, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), now goes to the White House. Related Links: Financial Bill May Tighten Construction Credit President Obama is expected to sign the legislation during the week of July 19, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. Senate passage came on a 60-39 vote as Republicans Scott Brown (Mass.) and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both from Maine, joined 57 Democrats to
