Last week the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began the process of working through the 600 page draft health care reform bill.  The process began slowly and many Republican Senators are hung up on the preliminary cost estimate of the bill, which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will increase the federal budget deficit over the next ten years by $1 trillion. The agency added that the bill would leave 37 million Americans uninsured over that time.  The Committee had attempted to begin the multi-week review of the legislation with the less controversial components, however the costs of the program continues to dominate the debate. The committee has yet to address or offer draft legislation of a public plan or an employer mandate, which are expected to be the most contentious issues.

The Senate Finance Committee intended to begin debating their own version of health care reform legislation; however, leaders have delayed the debate until after the July 4th break. Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will focus time on reining in the cost of the bill from a projected $1.6 trillion to under $1 trillion prior to working on the legislation.  It is expected that the Senate Finance Committee may produce the most bipartisan proposal of the ones Congress is contemplating.

Last week AGC sent a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee outlining some issues to consider during the health care debate. Click here to view the letter.

For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-2133 or youngj@agc.org.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released details of reauthorization legislation, the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009. The legislation is a 6-year $500 billion committee draft that would replace the current authorization, SAFETEA-LU, which is due to expire on September 30, but does not identify a method for funding.

The Chairman of the Committee, James Oberstar (D-Minn.), introduced the full authorization legislation Monday and billed it as a transformation in the way the federal government funds the nation's transportation infrastructure.  Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has called for an 18-month extension of SAFETEA-LU.

Preliminary documents were released last week and the committee released a draft version of the bill on Monday.  A blueprint for investment and reform, a framework of principles for federal surface transportation and an executive summary, as well as the current bill draft, are all available on the AGC Web site.

The committee draft of the legislation indicates a reduced number of federal programs but keeps most of the eligibility for them.  It does not address any specifics on formula funding. The blueprint states that there would be project streamlining, but new environmental concerns exist, such as carbon reduction and livability. Finally, the plan would centralize national planning to include all transportation modes. AGC staff is currently reviewing the bill language to determine its impact on construction.

The subcommittee is planning a markup of the legislation Wednesday, June, 24, and full committee may markup the bill in July. The Ways and Means Committee will hold a series of hearings in the next five weeks to consider funding options.

For more information, contact Jeff Shoaf at (202) 547-3350 or shoafj@agc.org.

In an All-Agency Memorandum issued on May 29, 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provided guidance to contracting agencies on the applicability of Davis-Bacon labor standards to federal and federally-assisted construction work funded in whole or in part under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  The memorandum provides a summary of the prevailing wage labor standards applicable to construction projects funded under Division A of the ARRA, highlights federal agencies' responsibilities in implementing Davis-Bacon labor standards, and provides links to online resources for additional information.

For more information, click here, or contact Denise Gold at (703) 837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.

On June 22, AGC submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) written comments for consideration in the interim final regulation on federally-assisted projects. These projects would include building, highway and municipal and utility projects funded by the stimulus.  Read AGC's comments here.

OMB issued guidance on April 23 establishing government-wide guidance and standard award terms for agencies to include in financial assistance awards (namely, grants, cooperative agreements and loans) as part of their implementation of the Recovery Act. AGC is currently reviewing new guidance issued by OMB on June 22 to determine any significant changes to the April 23 guidance and its impact on the construction industry.

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

The immediate past president of AGC Chapter Colorado Contractors Association, Don Hanneman (Castle Rock Construction Company), was featured on the local news June 23.  During his interview, Dan discussed jobs created and saved due to the stimulus funds.

Watch the video here.

For more information, contact Tony Milo at tmilo@ccainfo.org.

As part of the Transportation Construction Coalition, AGC and other coalition members have launched a new advertising campaign in Capitol Hill-targeted publications to push for immediate passage of a six-year surface transportation investment bill.

View the ad here.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle cited new analysis from AGC based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.  Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist, commented on the effect of the stimulus on construction jobs: “Projects funded by the stimulus legislation probably mitigated the overall downturn in construction jobs in May."

Read the article here.

AGC of America helped explain the timing of stimulus funded transportation projects in Reuters story posted today, US has only spent 1 pct of transportation stimulus.  Read the article here.

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

The Heavy Constructors Association of Greater Kansas City recently launched a public awareness campaign that will showcase people who now have jobs due to the stimulus-funded projects in the area.   The Kansas City Star reported Monday on the campaign, which includes several billboards that are already up, while others will go up later this summer. Read the article.

AGC's chief economist Ken Simonson was quoted in Tuesday's New York Times.  Simonson commented on the effect of the recession and rising interest rates on the multi-family housing industry.

Read the article here.