Related Links: Link to Letters From Federal Departments, Agencies Outlining Impact of Sequester Construction Industry Worries About Fiscal Cliff (ENR 12/3/12) As Congress began its Presidents Day recess, lawmakers had yet to act to undo or delay $85 billion in mandatory spending cuts slated to take effect on March 1.Senate Democrats on Feb. 14 unveiled a $110-billion package of tax hikes and other spending reductions to hold off the budget "sequester" for 10 months. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed the tax hikes in the plan as "a total waste of time." The cuts were to begin on

Related Links: Federal Appeals Court Invalidates NLRB Recess Appointments NLRB Appointments Generate New Wave of Controversy After a Jan. 25 federal appeals court decision determined that two appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were technically invalid, President Obama is under pressure to nominate board members that can be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.In Noel Canning v. NLRB, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the appointments of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin—both Democrats—were unconstitutional because Congress was technically not in recess when the appointments were made. Organized labor, as well as some Democrats,

Related Links: Summary of Sanders-Boxer bill Lawmakers Unveil Climate-Change Bill (ENR 5/19/2010) Sens. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have introduced a measure that would set fees on carbon emissions from large fossil-fuel-powered plants to help pay for renewable-energy and home weatherization projects.The bill would give consumers rebates to offset fossil-fuel-using companies' efforts to raise prices.The lawmakers announced the bill on Feb. 14, surrounded by leaders from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and 350.org. But the bill faces an uphill battle. A 2010 Senate cap-and-trade bill failed, and the new one is likely to run into strong

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy In his State of the Union speech, the president proposed a $40-billion 'Fix It First' plan to repair bridges, other infrastructure. Related Links: Text of Obama's State of the Union address White House background document on State of the Union proposals Construction officials were pleased to hear President Obama make a pitch in his State of the Union speech for more federal funds for infrastructure. But the proposed $50-billion infusion is similar to one Obama floated in 2011 and 2012. Congress didn't adopt those earlier proposals; with federal spending still under heavy pressure,

Related Links: High Stakes Las Vegas Stadium Gamble May Go Bust View Other ENR Legal Stories The city of Henderson, Nev., southeast of Las Vegas, claims it got duped into a sweetheart public land deal by Austin, Texas-based developer Christopher F. Milam, who proposed building a multi-arena sports complex, according to a Jan. 28 lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court. The city contends that Milam "conspired" to falsely buy 485 acres of federal land southeast of Interstate 15 and St. Rose Parkway "below what a true competitive bidding process would yield" and "sell it piecemeal to residential and commercial

Related Links: US DOT press release on New York funding announcement Obama Signs $50.5B Measure For Post-Sandy Relief, Rebuilding (enr.com, 1/30/13) New York state and local agencies have received $287 million in emergency federal highway aid to reimburse them for costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Sandy and other storms.U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced the funding action on Feb. 15,  said $250 million of the total will go for Sandy-related work.  The rest is for repairs stemming from earlier storms. The aid is part of the $2 billion allocated in the recently enacted Sandy spending

Related Links: FTA Federal Register notice outlining funding plan U.S. DOT press release Federal transportation officials are moving quickly to release $2 billion in aid to cover recovery costs for transit systems in New Jersey, New York and other eastern states that suffered major damage from Superstorm Sandy.The Federal Transit Administration announced on Feb. 4 that it will use $2 billion of the $10.9 billion it received in the recently enacted post-Sandy spending bill to reimburse local transit agencies for operating and capital costs they incurred after the massive storm struck in late October.FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff said, “We are

Related Links: EPA's Draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan Federal Register Notice The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comments on its draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan, published Feb. 8 in the Federal Register.The plan is a snapshot of ways climate change could affect EPA’s core mission and key goals.  The agency said, “It is essential that EPA adapt to, anticipate and plan for future changes in climate.”EPA and other federal agencies are drafting climate change adaptation plans in response to a 2009 executive order from President Obama requiring them to do so.EPA says it has not yet conducted a detailed

Related Links: Justice Dept. press release Granite Construction Co. has agreed to repay the federal government $367,500 in a settlement with the Justice Dept. regarding alleged overbilling on federal construction projects.The settlement, which Justice announced on Feb. 8, centers on prices that federal officials claim Granite inflated on projects financed by the Dept. of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 2006 and 2008.The settlement agreement states that Granite disclosed the potential overcharges to the Justice Dept. in October 2009.A Granite spokeswoman said in an emailed statement, "This was an inadvertent and honest mistake which was confirmed by

Related Links: House-Passed Debt-Limit Bill Awaits Senate Vote (ENR 2/4/13) New Fiscal Fights Ahead After 'Cliff' Deal (enr.com 1/9/13) A newly enacted bill has averted, for the time being, a default on the federal government's financial obligations, but mandatory spending cuts still are due to take effect on March 1.President Obama signed a bill on Feb. 4 that allows the government to borrow what it needs through May 18. The Treasury Dept. had warned that, without further action, the U.S. would breach its $16.4-trillion debt ceiling.To stave off the March 1 spending reductions for a few months, Obama on Feb.