With a big push from President-elect Barack Obama, a new economic-stimulus measure is virtually certain to be introduced soon after the new Congress begins in January. Odds also are good that infrastructure funding will be part of that package. Major questions remain, however, including how large the overall plan will be and how much of the money will go for public works. Obama says stimulus plan should be “significant enough that it really gives a jolt to the economy.” Obama continues to say a stimulus is at the top of his domestic agenda. The President-elect on Nov. 24 announced his

Environmental groups are cheering the election of Barack Obama and an end to an era they view as less than friendly to the environment. “The Bush administration has done a lot of damage to our nation’s environmental protections over the past eight years,” says Mike Daulton, National Audubon Society’s legislative director. Looking ahead, environmentalists’ priorities include securing passage of global warming legislation, limiting offshore oil drilling and reversing changes to the Endangered Species Act. Other environmental goals dovetail with those that construction groups support, such as reauthorizing Clean Water State Revolving Funds and boosting spending on water infrastructure. The National

As the Senate began a lame duck session, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Nov. 17 proposed a $100.3-billion economic-stimulus bill, with about $23 billion for infrastructure work. But in a sign that the plan faces long odds, Reid also said he has a smaller backup plan, without public-works aid. The $100.3-billion bill has $10 billion for highways, $2.5 billion for transit, $2.5 billion for wastewater treatment and drinking-water projects, $2.5 billion for schools and $900 million for Corps of Engineers civil works. Some Republicans, cool toward a public-works stimulus, may block the bill. Reid’s Plan B only has an

Fewer employers than initially proposed will be required to use the government’s electronic system for checking employees’ immigration status under a final Dept. of Homeland Security rule that takes effect on Jan. 15. DHS had proposed that companies holding prime federal contracts over $3,000 would have to use the federal “E-Verify” system. But the final rule, published on Nov. 14, changes the prime contract level to $100,000. Business groups had lobbied heavily for a higher threshold. But the American Sub�contractors Association is disappointed that subs still will be subject to the $3,000 level. DHS says companies enrolling in the program

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. indicated on Nov. 18 the Bush administration will hold back some of the $700 billion in economic rescue aid until President-elect Barack Obama takes office. Paulson told a House hearing, “This financial crisis is... difficult to counteract.” He said officials decided it was “prudent” to reserve some funds, “maintaining not only our flexibility but that of the next administration.”