Airport construction would get a boost under the two-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill the Senate approved on Feb. 17. The legislation, introduced by commerce committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), would hike funding for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) construction grants, to $4 billion in the bill’s first year and $4.1 billion in the bill’s second year from the current $3.5 billion. But industry officials worry the Senate numbers will not hold. A four-year bill making its way through the House of Representatives would trim AIP to $3.1 billion in fiscal 2011 and to $3 billion in 2012 and 2013. The

The House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 17 approved a bill to repeal the 2010 health-care law’s requirement that companies file a 1099 tax form for each vendor that provides more than $600 in goods or services. Some industry groups opposed the provision, contending it is too burdensome for small companies. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said GOP leaders hope to bring the bill to the floor in the spring. The Senate passed a similar measure on Feb. 2.

In 2016, Brazil will host the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s infrastructure construction market could benefit from a similar spirit of international competition, say construction executives. Photo: Fotolia.com Brazil will need plenty of new infrastructure, but international contractors haven’t won much work yet. Competition bidders for infrastructure projects financed by multilateral agencies and prospective contractors must complete all the formalities to prequalify for important projects in Brazil. For example, they submit price and technical proposals that are evaluated by the appropriate agencies. Yet companies from outside Brazil have failed to win a very large or complex project,

President Obama's $3.7-trillion fiscal 2012 budget proposal would freeze total non-security related discretionary funding, but within that overall freeze, calls for sharp increases in surface transportation accounts, to kick off a proposed $556-billion, six-year highway-transit-rail measure. On the other hand, Obama's budget request, sent to Congress on Feb. 14, recommends cuts in other construction accounts, including airport grants, Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure and General Services Administration new construction. The release of the budget proposal intensifies the debate that has already begun over federal spending. Congressional committees will dig into the details in hearings over the next several months. Congressional

After pouring billions of stimulus dollars into “greening” federal facilities, the White House now wants to spur similar upgrades to commercial buildings, which account for 20% of total U.S. energy consumption. President Obama’s newly proposed “Better Buildings Initiative” includes tax, lending and grant provisions to encourage private owners to install energy-efficiency improvements in their existing buildings. Federal agencies can carry out some of the new steps on their own, but others will require convincing a more heavily Republican Congress to approve them. The plan, announced on Feb. 3, aims to make commercial buildings 20% more energy efficient in 10 years.

The Senate defeated a proposal to repeal 2010’s health-care law but voted to cancel one section that construction groups opposed. The repeal plan, from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), failed a Feb. 2 procedural vote along party lines. Also on Feb. 2, the Senate voted to strike a mandate that companies file tax Form 1099 if annual purchases of goods or services from other companies were $600 or more.

The departments of Energy and the Interior plan to put areas in the Atlantic on a fast track for wind-power projects, spending $50 million over five years in offshore infrastructure and supply chains. DOE wants to develop 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2020. But because of high development costs and lengthy permitting, no offshore U.S. wind farms are yet under construction. Under a plan announced on Feb. 7, DOE and DOI aim to trim those costs by funding research and development in areas such as ports, marine systems engineering and turbine design. Interior also says it will speed

The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent announcement that it will move to develop a new drinking-water standard for perchlorate may well lead to more work for engineering and construction firms. In 2008, the Bush Administration concluded that perchlorate did not pose enough of a risk to compel a new water standard. But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb. 2 that new data indicates a new perchlorate standard is warranted. Jackson also said EPA would take steps toward regulating hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen. The American Water Works Association will argue for higher, rather than

The White House has launched a package of proposals--including a new tax credit and grant competition among states and cities--that aim to make commercial buildings 20% more energy efficient over 10 years. Related Links: Summary of the White House Plan The "Better Buildings Initiative," which President Obama announced on Feb. 3 during an appearance at Penn State University, is targeting commercial buildings, which the White House says account for about 20% of total U.S.energy consumption. Obama said the plan could save businesses nearly $40 billion over the next decade in lower energy costs. The plan has several components, some of

In an attempt to move a longsnarled aviation bill, the Senate again is preparing for a floor debate on a two-year, $34.6-billion authorization measure that includes $8 billion for airport construction grants. Senate commerce committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who introduced the measure on Jan. 27, said the new bill is the same as a proposal the Senate approved last March by a 93-0 vote. Rockefeller’s bill does not provide an increase in the current $4.50 passenger facility charge (PFC), except for a new pilot program that would remove the PFC cap completely at up to six airports. PFCs fund