An estimated 262,000 construction-sector jobs have been produced or saved by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through the end of 2009, the White House Council of Economic Advisers says in its second quarterly report on the stimulus measure’s impact. That total is nearly double the 133,000 ARRA construction jobs CEA estimated in its first ARRA snapshot, issued on Sept. 10. In its new report, released on Jan. 13, CEA notes that its numbers “are only estimates,” but those figures are in line with job counts reported by states and localities to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The panel

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed water-quality standards for Florida that would for the first time set numeric limits on nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen in that state. Nitrogen and phosphorous pollution comes from stormwater and agricultural runoff as well as municipal wastewater treatment. Normally, states are responsible for developing their own water-quality standards. EPA says it is taking the action, announced on Jan. 15, as a result of a 2009 consent decree between the EPA and the Florida Wildlife Federation. The wildlife organization filed a lawsuit in 2008 seeking to require EPA to develop numeric water-quality standards for

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Jan. 19 in a case involving a dispute between construction materials company Graniterock Co. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The case centers on whether a company may sue a third party—in this case, an international union—that was not a signatory to a collective-bargaining agreement but waged a strike against the company. Graniterock, a Watsonville, Calif., supplier of rock, concrete and other materials, claims the Teamsters’ international union unlawfully interfered with the collective-bargaining agreement Graniterock had established with Teamsters Local 287. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the company’s

As the 111th Congress begins its new session, construction groups will be keeping an eye on House-Senate negotiations on a final health-care bill and Senate action on a jobs measure expected to in­clude billions for infrastructure. Also on the agenda are successors to stopgap surface-transportation and aviation authorizations soon to lapse. Jeffrey Shoaf, the Associated General Contractors’ senior executive director for government affairs, says, “You’ve got the first quarter of this year chock-full of big issues.” Talks continue on a final health-care bill (see below). Shoaf says lawmakers are “very close to getting it done but...every time they’ve voted on

Health-care legislation remains front and center, as the White House works with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reconcile House and Senate versions of the bill. Union and nonunion groups are concerned about the direction in which the negotiations seem to be going. Unions don’t like the Senate bill’s tax on “Cadillac” health plans, and 10 union leaders met with President Obama on Jan. 11 to discuss their concerns. Those present included top officials of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Laborers’ International Union of North America and the AFL-CIO. Union leaders agreed

Two prominent Democratic senators announced on Jan. 5 and 6 that they will not seek re-election in November: Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Byron Dorgan. Their departures could potentially upset the delicate 60-vote Democratic majority needed to block GOP-led filibusters, if Republicans were to win their seats. Both lawmakers were considered vulnerable in the upcoming elections. Two prominent Democratic senators announced on Jan. 5 and 6 that they will not seek re-election in November: Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Byron Dorgan. Their departures could potentially upset the delicate 60-vote Democratic majority needed to block GOP-led filibusters, if Republicans were to

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulatory agenda for the first half of 2010 contains some major construction rules, including a long-awaited final regulation on cranes and derricks and a proposed rule on crystalline-silica exposure. Both regulations are expected to be issued by July. Construction industry groups and labor unions say they expect OSHA to be more active on the regulatory front under Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and new OSHA chief David Michaels, confirmed to the post on Dec. 3. But industry organizations say they find the agency’s shift toward enforcement from cooperative alliances troubling, although not unexpected in a

The construction industry is divided over the landmark health care bill approved by the Senate on Dec. 24, primarily because of a provision that would require small construction industry employers to provide health insurance to employees. Employer groups like the Associated General Contractors and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) say the measure would stifle growth and make it harder for small businesses to survive, particularly during difficult economic times. Labor unions, on the other hand, say the provision, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), fixes a loophole that would have exempted most of the construction industry—largely made up of

If the final version of the health care reform bill must resemble more closely what was passed by the Senate, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill say, the House's public option is probably out but the fate of the Senate's special provision targeting construction remains uncertain. Some contractor groups whose workers tend to be unionized are supporting the Senate's special construction industry amendment. After the Senate's approval of a measure that aims to make broad changes in the U.S. health-care system, the focus will turn to negotiations to reconcile the newly passed Senate bill with the version the House cleared in

Two compromise Senate climate-change proposals have been floated in hopes of finding enough support to win a floor vote. In November, the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee cleared a climate bill but got no GOP votes. Trying a new approach, John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Dec. 10 released a “basic framework for climate action” that said an emissions cap of about 17% less than 2005 levels “is achievable and reasonable.” EPW’s bill has a 20% cut. The Senate trio also want to encourage nuclear powerplant construction and boost U.S. oil and gas production.