Related Links: Link to text of Senate Finance Committee-approved bill Senate Bill Seeks Expanded Exports to Russia (ENR 6/25/12) Trade legislation that is expected to boost U.S. exports to Russia, including shipments of construction equipment, is moving swiftly toward passage in Congress.The Senate Finance Committee on July 18 unanimously cleared a bill to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia. That move would make the U.S. eligible for Russian tariff cuts and other benefits when Russia joins the World Trade Organization (WTO). The bill, which has provisions to improve Russia's human-rights record, next goes to the Senate floor.Action is

Related Links: MAP-21 Transportation Measure Goes on the Books PDF of MAP-21 legislation As construction officials dig deeper into the many sections and subsections of the new transportation law, they see a variety of detailed provisions that they like and some disappointing omissions.The Design-Build Institute of America and the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) point to a provision in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) allowing up to 100% federal funding for projects using innovative delivery methods. This includes design-build and construction manager-general contractor procurement and innovative equipment, materials or techniques, such as prefabricated bridge

Related Links: Release announcing National Resilience Coalition PDF of 2009 DHS National Infrastructure Advisory Council report on critical infrastructure resilience Eighteen organizations, including design and emergency-preparedness groups, have launched an effort to make U.S. infrastructure better able to anticipate, withstand and quickly recover from major disruptions from natural disasters, terrorist acts and other threats.The National Resilience Coalition's co-founders are The Infrastructure Security Partnership, the Security Analysis and Risk Management Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Related Links: Fiscal Year 2013 Looks Rough for Construction Spending (ENR 6/4/12) Federal Construction Funding Is Growing Tighter (ENR 3/26/12) With fiscal year 2013 appropriations bills on a slow pace in Congress, few, if any, of the 12 measures that fund various federal agencies are expected to be enacted by Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year begins. That means Congress will turn again to a continuing resolution (CR). "Otherwise, the government shuts down," says Jeffrey Shoaf, Associated General Contractors senior executive director for government affairs. "No one wants that four weeks before the election." That CR could extend past

For the second time in 18 months, the House has passed a bill to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, whose provisions have begun to revamp the U.S. health-care system.

ENR staff Some Big BRAC Increases Related Links: GAO June 29 report on BRAC 2005 round's costs BRAC: Total Cost 48% Higher Than Initial Estimate (ENR 4/29/09) The cost of the Dept. of Defense's 2005 base closure round has ended up much higher than planners initially estimated. Increased construction expenses were the major factor, says a Government Accountability Office report.The GAO study, released on June 29, says the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission estimated the program's construction and other up-front costs at $21 billion. But in 2011, the 2005 round's final year, DOD pegged those costs at $35.1

Photo by AP Wideworld Obama's signature ends a long wait for a new transportation statute. It also launches the next stage: converting funds into projects. Related Links: Transportation Bill Negotiations Head to the Wire PDF of MAP-21 Bill As a standing-room-only crowd of lawmakers, construction and transportation officials, and others in the White House's East Room looked on, President Obama on July 6 signed into law a long-overdue $104.4-billion, 27-month highway-and-transit authorization bill. Putting down the last of the 12 pens he used to sign his name, Obama said, "All right. It's done," to a round of applause from the

Related Links: Text of House-Senate conference report Ending more than 33 months of transportation funding via stopgap bills, President Obama has signed into law a new $104-billion highway and transit authorization measure.With key lawmakers as well as construction and transportation group leaders in attendance, Obama signed the long-delayed bill on July 6 in a brief ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The measure—titled MAP-21, for Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century—funds surface-transportation programs through September 2014.The new statute's roughly 27-month span gives state agencies and construction-industry companies more of the funding  certainty they have sought

Related Links: GSA Plans Unusual Buildings Deal in L.A. Capitol Hill Flap Over Earlier Courthouse Plan The U.S. General Services Administration has proposed an unusual solution to a costly federal facilities problem in downtown Los Angeles.Under the plan, which GSA Acting Administrator Daniel Tangherlini outlined in a June 22 letter to members of California's congressional delegation, GSA will seek a private development firm to which it will transfer the New Deal-era North Spring Street federal courthouse. If GSA were to keep the building for federal use, it would need a $250-million overhaul.To acquire the 74-year-old courthouse, the developer would build

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 ruling that was a blow to business groups and is certain to become part of the election-year debate.