The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday approved several measures awaiting committee consideration, including three bills to authorize funding for water infrastructure, bridge rehabilitation and dam repair. 

• The Water Infrastructure Financing Act would authorize appropriations totaling $38.5 billion over five years for the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) programs, and for other water infrastructure grant programs.  Specifically, the bill authorizes $20 billion for the Clean Water SRF program, $15 billion for the Safe Drinking Water SRF program, $2 billion for the Sewer Overflow Control Grant program and approximately $1.5 billion for other water infrastructure grant programs.  An amendment was adopted that would apply Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements to any loan made under the SRF programs.  The House approved a similar measure, H.R. 720, which authorized $14 billion over four years for the Clean Water SRF program, by a vote of 303 to 108 on March 9, 2007. 
• H.R. 3999, The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act would authorize an additional $1 billion in FY 2009 in grants to states to finance the reconstruction of structurally deficient bridges.  The bill also strengthens bridge inspection standards.  The House passed the bill on July 24, 2008 by a vote of 367 to 55.
• H.R. 3224, The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act would authorize $200 million over five years for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to states for the rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams. The House passed the bill on October 29, 2007 by a vote of 263 to 102. 

All three bills must now be considered by the full Senate.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved the FY 09 defense authorization bill Wednesday after a showdown over earmarks with Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) forced Democrats to scuttle plans to attach a massive "manager's package" of amendments to the annual legislation.

After of roughly 100 amendments were taken off the table, the Senate voted 88-8 to approve the bill. The measure now goes to a Conference Committee to be reconciled with the House version, which must be wrapped up in the next week in order to receive final consideration.

AGC is keeping close watch over the reauthorization, which includes several contracting reform provisions, and may include a potential contractor database provision by Senator Clare McCaskill (D-Mo.) and a blacklisting provision by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

On Wednesday, September 10, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on the efforts to build a fence along the country’s southern border.  The hearing mostly focused on the delays behind the building of the virtual fence, but briefly touched on the cost increases for the physical fence as well.

The Department of Homeland Security testified that the increased costs of construction materials was part of the reason for the fence building delays and asked Congress for more money for both the physical and virtual fence.   Since 2005, Congress has already appropriated over $2.5 billion for the fence project.  While most Members of Congress in attendance focused on the technical problems faced by the development of the virtual fence, it was another example of the affect of rising construction materials costs around the country.

AGC supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes strengthening our borders.

In the coming weeks, staff changes will take place at HQ USACE. Major General Don Riley, who was promoted to Deputy Commanding General earlier this year, left a vacancy in the Civil Works Directorate. Earlier this week, Lieutenant General Van Antwerp announced that Major General Bo Temple, the current Deputy Commanding General for Military and International Operations, will assume the position of Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations later this fall.

Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko will become the Deputy Commanding General Military and International Operations upon his return from a highly successful term as Commander of the Gulf Region Division in Iraq. BG Dorko was the keynote speaker at the annual Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Awards during the 2007 AGC Convention in San Antonio.

The changes are expected to take place beginning in October. AGC looks forward to its continued work with these two great leaders.

McCain/Palin received a post-convention bounce, leading in one poll this week by as much as ten points (USA Today/Gallup 9/5-9/7).  Average poll numbers produce a less dramatic but still significant change in direction for the GOP. Since the end of the Republican Convention, polls shows Sen. McCain leading 47.6 to 45.2; this is almost exactly the opposite of the averages following the Democratic Convention when Sen. Obama led by four points.

McCain is now faring better on the question of which candidate can best handle today’s economy, the topic that voters identify as their leading concern (about 43% of the time).  Following the Democratic Convention, Obama led McCain 55% to 36% on this issue, but the gap has narrowed to just a 3% lead for Obama (48% to 45%). The economy now outranks concerns about Iraq (15%), energy, including gas prices (14%) and healthcare (11%). 

Both candidates picked up ground with their favorability ratings as each ranks in the mid 50s. Gallup’s examination of the numbers shows that much of the McCain bounce has come from independents; 52% now support McCain, up from 40% prior to the GOP convention. Voters will continue to evaluate the candidates over the next 53 days and it may be weeks before independents firm up their choices. Experts predict that as many as 135 million votes will be cast for President in November, and the race is likely to stay close until Election Day.

On September 8, AGC urged the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to focus on six priority areas - those that will most impact the ability of AGC members to hire, manage their businesses and pay taxes into the future - in the waning weeks of the 110th Congress. The construction industry is suffering a drop in employment, especially in highway and transportation construction, where there has been a drop of more than 5% in the past year. The construction industry has also seen significant volatility in diesel/energy prices over the last five years.

AGC urged Congress to focus on the following top six priorities:
• Fixing the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund, which passed the Senate Wednesday and the House on Thursday;
• Extending the authorization for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) into the 111th Congress;
• Finalizing appropriations for fiscal year 2009 and providing economic stimulus that creates jobs;
• Improving domestic energy security;
• Extending tax provisions; and
• Reauthorizing the E-Verify program.

To view a copy of the letter click here.

On a voice vote Wednesday the Senate passed HR 6532, legislation transferring $8 billion from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund. The transfer will prevent a shortfall in available funds from slowing down federal reimbursements to states for on-going federal-aid highway construction projects. The Senate amended the House bill to allow for the transfer to happen immediately rather than on October 1. The House passed the bill Thursday by a vote of 376-29, and the President is expected to sign it expeditiously.

This action caps off several days of intense negotiations in which three Republican Senators were seeking to offer amendments to the bill and were also requesting a roll call vote on the measure.

In an announcement last week, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters reported on the dire situation in HTF revenue which, if not remedied, will result in a slow down and reduction in payments to state DOTs. At that time she called on Congress to pass HR 6532. Numerous state DOTs announced that, if the full federal funds were not forthcoming, that they would be forced to cancel contract lettings, slow down work on ongoing projects and, in some cases, issue debt to make payments to contractors.

AGC Chapters and members responded to AGC of America's many pleas for contact with Congressional delegations on this legislation. Thank you for your help.

For more information, contact Karen Bachman at bachmank@agc.org or (202) 547-4733.

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) will formally accept his party’s nomination this evening. Senator McCain captured the attention of the media following the Democratic Party Convention with his Vice Presidential pick of Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), but has yet to turn it into gains in polls.

Gallup Daily tracking polls show that the Obama/Biden ticket entered the week of August 24 tied with Senator McCain at 45%. By the end of the week Obama/Biden had picked up 4 points while McCain had dropped 3, expanding the margin to 49% from 42%, the widest margin this daily tracking poll has shown since the beginning of August.  However, this polling does not yet reflect the full impact of the GOP convention. The polling also shows that both McCain and Obama have increased their number of committed voters, and according to the most recent polling, swing voters now represent 21%, down from 30% since last week.

For more information, contact Elisa Brewer at (202) 547-5013 or brewere@agc.org.

At this week’s Republican National Convention in Minnesota, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Republican John Mica (R-FL) pitched a $1.5 trillion plan to invest in the nation’s transportation infrastructure.  The plan would include investments in all modes of surface transportation, including rail, and would be paid for by a mixture of federal revenue, public private partnerships, and bond proceeds. 

AGC has contacted the campaigns of both Senator McCain and Senator Obama to promote infrastructure investment as a key aspect of their campaign platforms.  The next president and his administration will have to sign off on the next surface transportation reauthorization bill due for renewal in 2009. 

For more information, contact Karen Bachman at (202) 547-4733 or bachmank@agc.org.

AGC sent a letter this week to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) in support of the infrastructure investment provisions contained in the Chairman’s second stimulus supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008.  In particular, AGC expressed support for the Chairman’s proposal to address the impending Highway Trust Fund deficit by transferring $8 billion from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund.  The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a stand-alone piece of legislation to accomplish the transfer in July. 

In addition to the Highway Trust Fund fix, the second stimulus supplemental appropriations package proposes the following infrastructure investments above current levels of funding:

• $3.57 billion for highway investments, for states to improve deficient roads and bridges 
• $892.5 million for transit capital and operating needs 
• $200 million for capital improvements at airports 
• $400 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) program 
• $200 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support $500 million in loans and grants for rural water infrastructure 
• $850 million for public school repair and renovation 
• $200 million for construction and repair work of land border points of entry facilities 
• $10.1 billion for natural disaster recovery in response to flooding in the Midwest, Hurricane Katrina, and western firefighting 
 
The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to schedule consideration of the proposal. 

For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.