Join AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson or Senior Executive Director of Government and Public Affairs Jeff Shoaf and Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, to learn what the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) means to your business and your local community. Get the latest updates on how dozens of federal and state agencies are moving on stimulus projects, and gain insight about the overall construction economy, construction funding and tax provisions in the stimulus package. Briefings will be held on the following dates: April 3 in San Diego, April 15 in Houston, April 22 in Chicago and April 24 in Atlanta. Simonson will present in San Diego, Houston and Atlanta, with Shoaf will present in Chicago. Click here for more information and to register.

STP Instructor Training Workshop

June 4-5, Omaha, Neb.          

This two-day workshop will prepare participants to conduct STP courses, get the most out of STP instructor materials and effectively teach adult learners. Whether you are interested in starting an STP program in your area or looking to provide an improved STP experience, this interactive workshop will provide the information, tools and techniques you need to successfully facilitate your programs. Learn more www.agc.org/STPITW.

AGC's new national education program was launched last week and met with much interest and excitement by its first students. AGC of DC offered the course on April 7 in Arlington, Va.

BIM 101 was developed by AGC in conjunction with the leading BIM practitioners, technology firms and educators, and is designed to serve construction professionals, building developers, owners, managers, architects, engineers and construction product manufacturers.  BIM will make it easier for construction firms to lower costs and speed construction work by taking advantage of virtual design and construction technology.  The first-of-its-kind educational program is designed to give construction professionals a broad understanding of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process.

BIM 101: An Introduction to Building Information Modeling, is the first of six planned courses in the BIM Education Program series. The series is designed specifically for construction professionals eager to learn the essential concepts of BIM. The course instruction is supported by real-world case studies and is designed to serve as a foundation for advanced courses.

The courses can be taken at any of the association's 95 chapters, in addition to a range of construction firms and educational institutions.

For more information about BIM 101 or for a listing of sites offering the class, please visit www.agc.org/BIMEP or contact Amy Fields, Senior Director of Curriculum and Program Development at curriculum@agc.org.

The 10th annual Work Zone Awareness Week began this week, and includes events around the country to raise awareness of the importance of highway work zone safety.  An event outside Washington, D.C., featured a tour of an AGC member project site led by Michael Hart, Cianbro Construction Corp.

Local media attended the event and captured AGC's call to reduce the number of highway work zone fatalities by fifty percent within the next two years.  On average, 1,000 people are killed each year in highway work zones, and AGC's CEO Steve Sandherr noted that it should not cost a life to rebuild a road or repair a bridge.

AGC of South Dakota raised awareness by announcing that sixteen people have been killed in the state due to work zone accidents in the last five years.  AGC of SD's executive vice president Toby Crow echoed AGC's call to cut highway work zone fatalities in half in the next two years.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

The debate on card check has heated up and changed direction. On Monday, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) announced her opposition to the Card Check bill and said she would vote against even considering the bill in the Senate.  Lincoln joined Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) in opposition to the legislation, and coupled with Sen. Arlen Specter's (R-Penn.) announcement last week that he will not support Card Check, proponents of the bill are 4 votes shy of what they need to advance it in the Senate.   Some union Card Check supporters acknowledge their setbacks and are now talking about considering "significant labor law reforms." Card Check supporters in Congress continue to push the bill and have yet to consider any other option.

AGC remains fully opposed to Card Check and considers work towards a compromise as a "Trojan horse" that would likely be used to advance the full Card Check bill during Senate consideration.  Also, the business community remains united in opposition to the legislation.

To join AGC in opposition to Card Check, visit the Legislative Action Center to send a letter to your representatives.

Nationwide, AGC Chapters and members are announcing new projects and jobs saved and added thanks to work funded by the economic stimulus.

A recent construction job fair in North Dakota drew a crowd of workers from across the state and beyond. Russ Hanson, executive vice president of the AGC of North Dakota, talked with the local media about the potential of $170 million in stimulus funds to put people to work on construction projects in the state.  Watch the video.

Arizona Builders' Alliance executive director Mark Minter was interviewed by the local news on the ability of the economic stimulus to bring construction jobs to Arizona.  Watch the video here.

AGC member company Pike Industries Inc., will begin work on Route 101 in New Hampshire next month.  Company president Christian Zimmermann was prevented from laying off workers thanks to the project, which will be the first state highway project funded by the stimulus.  Read the article.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

In addition to the guidance to Federal contractors issued by the FAR Councils last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

This updated guidance applies to Recovery projects that are federally-assisted (grants, SRF loans, etc.) rather than directly funded by the federal government. It seeks to clarify many key positions including the applicability of Buy America provisions, and reporting requirements. Updates to the guidance are based on ongoing input received from the public, Congress, state and local government officials, grant and contract recipients and federal personnel.

AGC is currently reviewing this guidance in detail to determine its impact on construction contractors performing work funded by the recovery plan and will update AGC members on the findings.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

Recently the U.S. Department of Education announced that $44 billion for states and schools is now available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  More information on from this agency and others is available on AGC's Stimulus at Work Web site, www.agc.org/stimulus. 

The funding announced by the Department of Education includes $32.6 billion under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which is two-thirds of the total dollars in the fund.  The remaining funds will be released later in the year.  A state-by-state breakdown on this initial release of funds can be found here.  Detailed information on education funding in the stimulus package can be found here.  

Details on stimulus funding for school construction, modernization, renovation and repair can be found in Section V (pages 33-37) of the Department of Education's "Guidance on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program."  The Department's "School Modernization" page can be found here.

For more information contact Mike Stark at starkm@agc.org or (703) 837-5365.

According to a new analysis of data from the EPA, the construction industry accounts for less than one percent of all U.S. green house gas emissions. In addition to the findings, contractors around the country are taking steps to further reduce their emissions while also building infrastructure for a greener environment. 

Read AGC's Earth Day press release here, or view coverage by For Construction Pros.com, USGNN and Building Design and Construction.

AGC of New Hampshire member Pike Construction got a high profile visit to one of its construction sites last week when U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and the state's governor came to see the stimulus-funded project and meet with new hires.  AGC of America was able to coordinate with DOT officials to let them know about Pike's role in the project and to alert them to the fact the company has already begun hiring new employees as a result of the stimulus.  Secretary LaHood invited Pike's President Christian Zimmerman and his new employees to attend the event, called on him to speak about the new jobs and watched as his new hires became the center of the media's attention. 

View the media coverage here.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or at turmailb@agc.org.