Related Links: Congressional Budget Office Testimony on Highway Trust Fund (House subcommittee hearing 7/23/13) DOT Moves To Streamline TIFIA Loan Decisions (enr.com 7/26/13) As the Highway Trust Fund's highway account heads toward a deficit late next year, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's new secretary, Anthony Foxx, says resources such as DOT's expanded loan program and President Obama's proposed infrastructure bank can give the unsteady fund some support. But Foxx also says they won't eliminate the funding gap.FOXXAt an Aug. 1 briefing, Foxx said, "I think that we are going to have to add some tools to the tool box." They

Related Links: Federal Appeals Court Invalidates NLRB Recess Appointments Supreme Court to Hear NLRB Recess Appointment Case The U.S. Senate has confirmed a full lineup of five National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) nominees, ending a long-running stalemate between the White House and Congress over the board's composition.The series of Senate votes on July 30 on the nominees ensures that the board will have a full complement for the first time in a decade.  The NLRB decides cases that directly affect employers and unions, including those in the construction industry. In recent years, the board has ruled on such issues as

Related Links: World Bank release: FY13 aid commitments (preliminary figures) Link to 2012 update of World Bank Group Infrastructure Strategy World Bank release: approval of $250-million loan for Quito transit project The World Bank’s total financial commitments declined slightly in fiscal year 2013, and its aid to infrastructure sectors fell 13%. Within the infrastructure area, however, transportation funding posted an increase.The bank reported on July 23 that it provided $52.6 billion in loans, grants and other assistance in its fiscal year ended June 30, down about 1% from the previous year’s total. Bank spokesman David Theis said that, within that

Related Links: Link to Industry Letter The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate the disposal of coal ash.The bill, supported by industry and opposed by environmental groups, would leave the regulation of coal combustion waste to the states and would prevent the material from being labeled as “hazardous“ by the EPA.The House passed the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act 265-155 on July 25. No comparable legislation has been introduced in the Senate.A number of construction and industry groups supported the bill, including the American Road & Transportation Builders

Courtesy of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee DOT has received loan requests totaling $15.2 billion for 31 projects. Foxx (above) expects several loans to be approved by year's end. Related Links: Senate committee TIFIA hearing prepared testimony, Webcast States Gear Up to Seek Expanded TIFIA Loan Aid (ENR 8/27/12 issue) With industry and state officials pressing for faster U.S. Dept. of Transportation action on Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans, DOT is taking steps to speed its reviews for the aid, which is viewed as a critical part of financing packages for major highway, bridge and other infrastructure

Photo by Lonnie Tague for the Dept. of Justice On tap for new secretary are pending or possible OSHA rules dealing with crane safety, silica-dust exposure and work in confined spaces. Related Links: GOP Lawmakers Raise Concerns about Labor Secretary Nominee Tom Perez (ENR 4/29/13) Obama Picks Justice Dept. Civil Rights Chief to Lead Labor Dept. (enr.com 3/18/13) As Thomas E. Perez begins work as the Dept. of Labor's new secretary, construction industry and union groups are waiting to see when the DOL will act on key regulatory issues and what it will say. Some pending or possible rules would

Photo Courtesy of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee The agency is expected to advance a rule to curb powerplants' air emissions. Related Links: Perez and McCarthy Nominations to Get Full Senate Vote Senate Holds Confirmation Hearings on EPA, DOE Nominees Despite opposition from some Senate Republicans and one Democrat from a coal state, Gina McCarthy was sworn in as the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator. She receives high marks from industry and environmental groups. Both are waiting to see the shape of regulations the EPA issues on McCarthy's watch.McCarthy, whom the Senate confirmed on July 18 by a 59-40 vote,

Related Links: Immigration Bill Focus Shifts to House After Senate Vote Video of Boehner 7/11/13 press briefing (C-span) Video of Pelosi 7/11/13 press briefing (C-span) House Republicans’ plan for taking up immigration legislation is coming into sharper focus but still isn’t completely clear.Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), in a July 11 press conference, stated strongly that the U.S. immigration system needs to be changed. He reiterated that the House will take up several separate bills dealing with specific immigration issues and not vote on a wide-ranging overhaul such as the one the Senate recently passed.Boehner didn’t provide a timetable for that

Following the Obama administration's announcement that the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate will be delayed by one year, House Republican leaders are pushing to extend that delay to the ACA mandate for individuals, as well.

Related Links: Committee release w/summary of GSA bill Text of House committee bill A House committee has approved a bill that would set limits on the number of courtrooms in new federal courthouses and freeze the amount of total real estate space the General Services Administration controls.The measure, which the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee cleared on July 11 by a voice vote, has strong support on the panel. Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and the committee’s top Democrat, Nick Rahall (W.Va.), have signed on as co-sponsors.The bill may go to the House floor before the August recess, a GOP aide