The White House will have to keep searching for a deputy secretary for the Dept. of Transportation. Jane Garvey, the Federal Aviation Administration chief and acting head of the Federal Highway Administration during the Clinton presidency, was seen as the top choice for the No. 2 DOT post. But Garvey has declined the appointment, says a spokesperson at JPMorgan, which Garvey joined last year.
President Obama has asked the Office of Management and Budget to develop by Sept. 30 more stringent procurement guidelines to limit the use of sole-source and cost-plus contracts on federal projects. In a March 4 memo, Obama said use of sole-source and cost-plus contracts increased dramatically between 2001 and 2008. He contended that reliance on those contracts led to cost overruns and wasteful spending on federal projects during the Bush presidency, particularly in Iraq. The memo also says federal agencies should use sole-source contracts only in limited circumstances and rely more on fixed-price contracts. The White House estimates the changes
President Obama has asked federal agencies to reconsider an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that allows agencies, in some cases, to let construction projects move forward without consulting scientists about the projects’ impact on endangered species. In a March 3 memo, Obama requested that agencies go back to the previous policy until the Bush administration rule can be reviewed. At issue is a regulation that the Interior and Commerce departments issued on Dec. 11. It gave agencies broader authority to clear projects without checking with federal scientists about how the projects would affect wildlife. The agencies said the change would make
President Obama has signed a $410-billion spending measure that will carry many federal agencies through the end of fiscal year 2009. The legislation, which Obama signed March 11, funds most of the major federal construction programs, increasing spending for some accounts from 2008 levels, but trimming funding for others. The appropriations bill moved quickly through the House, but had a bumpy path in the Senate, as critics complained about the overall size of the measure and its estimated $7.7 billion billion in "earmarks," specifying funds for individual projects or activities. With such criticism in the air, Obama and House Democratic
President Obama has signed a stopgap funding bill that will keep federal agencies running through March 11. The continuing resolution, which Obama signed on March 6, was necessary because most of the agencies were operating under an earlier "CR" that expired on that date. The House on Feb. 25 had passed a $410-billion appropriations package that would fund those agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the 2009 fiscal year, but things bogged down in the Senate. The developments affect most of the federal departments and agencies, including many that oversee important construction programs, such as the Transportation, Energy and
A House committee has cleared a four-year aviation reauthorization bill that would provide a boost for airport construction grants and a hike in passenger facility charges, as an airport group says capital needs continue to climb. But with a temporary Federal Aviation Administration authorization set to lapse March 31, another extension is likely. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 5 approved a bill that would authorize $70 billion for FAA over the 2009-2012 period. It includes $16.2 billion for FAA's Airport Improvement Program, which provides grants to fund runways, taxiways and other infrastructure. Under the bill, AIP would
President Obama’s ambitious $3.55-trillion budget outline for fiscal year 2010 is the latest salvo in his administration’s efforts to revive and reshape the nation’s economy. The proposed budget blueprint, unveiled Feb. 26, aims to cut the federal deficit in half by 2013 but doesn’t slash construction accounts to reach that g oal. Instead, it would boost funding for water infrastructure and create a National Infrastructure Bank. Photo: AP/Wideworld OMB’s Orszag (left) delivers plan to Rep. John Spratt (center) and Sen. Kent Conrad Meanwhile, Congress still needs to approve final spending numbers for fiscal 2009. Lawmakers approved a stopgap measure this
Beating its congressionally imposed deadline, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation has released the $27.5 billion provided for highway projects in the recently enacted economic-stimulus package. The release of the funds, announced March 3 by President Obama, followed the Federal Highway Administration's formal apportionment the day before of $26.7 billion of that total among the states. Photo: Courtesy of the White House President Obama, flanked by Vice President Biden (l) and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, at U.S. DOT headquarters Mar. 3. Related Links: Obama Hails Beginning of New Construction In making the announcement at DOT's headquarters, Obama said, "I can say
States across the country are moving rapidly to start turning their shares of newly approved economic stimulus money into construction contracts. States are in line to receive about $40 billion of the stimulus measure’s estimated $130 billion in construction-related funds. That state funding includes $26.8 billion for highways, $7.4 billion for transit, $3.9 billion for clean water state revolving funds, about $2 billion for drinking-water SRFs and $3.1 billion for state energy programs. Most of those funds will be distributed among states according to existing formulas. President Obama calls on governors to promote transparency when bidding work funded by the
The waiting went on and on as anxious construction industry and state officials watched for months for glimmers of progress in Washington on a bill that they hoped would ease the recession’s tightening grip. On Feb. 17, the long wait ended as President Obama traveled to Denver and signed what he called "the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history," the $787.2-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Photo: AP/Wideworld Obama at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science with its solar energy. Related Links: View ENR.com Coverage of Economic Stimulus View Complete Economic Stimulus Special Section AP/Wideworld Obama signs the
