Related Links: House Appropriations Committee release on military construction-VA bill passage, with links to bill text floor amendments Committee's release on energy-water programs bill passage with links to bill text, floor amendments The House, approving its first two fiscal 2016 appropriations bills, has called for increases in military construction and the Army Corps of Engineers' civil-works program. But the House also froze the Dept. of Veterans Affairs' account for large projects and cut VA's minor-projects budget.By a 255-163 vote, the House on April 30 cleared a bill that would boost Dept. of Defense construction 13%, to $6.8 billion. The measure

Related Links: Census Bureau report on March construction AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction spending in March rose 2% year over year but edged down 0.6% from February’s level, the Commerce Dept. has reported.Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau reported on May 1 that the estimated value of construction put in place in March totaled an annual rate of $966.6 billion, a 2% uptick from March 2014’s rate. It also was slightly below February’s rate of $972.9 billion. The rates are adjusted for seasonal variations.The key residential sector fell 2.3% from

Photo courtesy of Export-Import Bank of the U.S. ExIm Chairman Hochberg says bank's aid can help U.S. companies that face tough foreign competition for export sales. Related Links: Prepared text of ExIm Bank Chairman Hochberg's speech to bank's annual conference Press release on Sen. Kirk's ExIm reauthorization bill A tussle is likely to heat up on Capitol Hill in coming weeks over reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank.Conservative groups and lawmakers want to shut the 81-year-old institution; businesses—including engineering and construction-equipment companies—and their congressional allies favor extending the bank's charter for several more years.The debate should intensify in coming weeks because

Related Links: Text of House-passed bill Portman-Shaheen press release outlining bill (04/21/15) Congress has approved a narrowly focused measure that aims to encourage—but not require—commercial-building owners and tenants to improve their facilities’ energy efficiency.Final congressional action on the bill came on April 21, when the House passed it under suspension of the chamber's rules.  The Senate approved the legislation on March 27. It next goes to the White House for President Obama’s expected signature.The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), termed it “good for the economy and good for the environment.”Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who teamed with Portman in drafting

Related Links: AAPA State of Freight report (04/21/2015) U.S. ports say they need $28.9 billion in upgrades to roads, rail, bridge and tunnel links over the next 10 years to handle the heavy volume of freight they expect, according to a new American Association of Port Authorities report.The AAPA State of Freight survey, whose results were released on April 21, says, “Investment in America’s port-connection infrastructure is a critical national priority.”AAPA says that, from 2000 to 2013, the container volume that moved through U.S. ports rose by about 50%, to 44.6 million 20-ft equivalent units, increasing the load on their

Related Links: Dodge Data & Analytics report (04/21/2015) Construction starts dropped 13% in March from February’s level, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $633.3 billion, Dodge Data & Analytics reports.In its latest monthly construction report, released on April 21, Dodge D&A also says that megaproject starts in February skewed the comparison. If projects valued at more than $1 billion are excluded from both months' figures, March’s total is up 4% from February’s, Dodge D&A said. (ENR is part of Dodge D&A.)Robert A. Murray, Dodge D&A chief economist, said in a statement: “The presence of unusually large projects will affect

Related Links: The VA's Aurora Hospital Project: How Did Things Get So Bad? (ENR 03/30/2015 issue) [subscription] VA May Cede Lead Role in Hospital Construction Program (ENR 2/2/2015 issue) [subscription] VA Overhaul Includes Some Funds to Upgrade Facilities (ENR 8/18/2014 issue) [subscription] Under continued fire on Capitol Hill for its over-budget, much-delayed hospital in Aurora, Colo., the Dept. of Veterans Affairs has proposed to draw the additional $830 million it says it needs to complete the job from $5-billion that Congress authorized last year for adding to VA's health-care workforce and repairing facilities nationwide.The request, which VA Deputy Secretary Sloan

Related Links: APTA report on need for long-term bill, impact of ending trust fund's transit account (04/09/2015) Stand Up 4 Transportation web page Public-transit advocates are stepping up their campaign for a long-term surface transportation bill and also want to fight off congressional proposals to sever their programs from the Highway Trust Fund, a key revenue source for rail and bus projects for more than three decades. To highlight their messages, transit launched a Stand Up 4 Transportation day on April 9, with rallies and events at cities around the country, featuring top officials of local transit systems and their

Related Links: Congressional Budget Office Highway Trust Fund projections March 2015 State DOTs Plan Ways To Cope With Uncertain Federal Funds (enr.com 2/27/2015) [subscription] It's looking more and more likely that Congress won't approve an industry-desired five- or six-year bill increasing funds for highway and transit programs by May 31, when the current 10-month authorization lapses. Another stopgap appears to be in the cards.Cathy Connor, Parsons Brinckerhoff senior vice president, says, "I think, at this point, it is clear that we're not going to identify sufficient funding to do a long-term bill by May 31. So, it is fairly obvious

Related Links: Bureau of Labor statistics release with data tables ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's analysis AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's analysis Construction’s March unemployment figures showed a mixed picture as the industry’s jobless rate fell from the year-earlier and February levels, but it also lost 1,000 jobs in the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says.The latest BLS look at U.S. employment, released on April 3, reports that construction’s unemployment rate declined to 9.5% in March from 11.3%, year over year, and also was down from February’s 10.6%. The BLS rates are not adjusted for seasonal variations and one