Related Links: Commerce Dept. Census Bureau's release on February construction spending with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's analysis Construction spending in February climbed 2.1%, year over year, but slipped slightly from January's total, the Commerce Dept. reports.The department’s latest monthly construction report, released on April 1, showed that the value of finished construction projects in February hit an annual rate of $967.2 billion, up 2.1% from February 2014’s rate but down 0.1% from January’s level. Rates are seasonally adjusted.Residential, the largest construction category, was off 1.9% year over year, to a $355.6-billion
Related Links: White House Fact Sheet Link to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Website The Obama administration on March 31 formally submitted its plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.World leaders will meet in Paris in December to try to reach an international agreement to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide.Environmental advocates say the formal pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions is an important step that might encourage other nations to follow suit. But even some supporters note that for an international agreement to be successful in helping address
Related Links: OMB 3/25/2015 memo to agencies on real estate reduction plan The Obama administration has directed federal agencies to reduce their total real-estate square footage, in owned and leased space, starting in fiscal year 2016.The plan, outlined in a March 25 White House Office of Management and Budget memo, doesn’t bar new federal buildings construction, but any added space would have to be more than offset by selling other, underused facilities or reducing leases.The “Reduce the Footprint” program doesn't set an overall square-footage target for the government but asks each agency to come up with an annual goal.David Mader,
Related Links: Text of 2013 Bill, the Transportation Empowerment Act Transportation Construction Coalition map showing level of potential state gas-tax hikes under 2013 House and Senate bills Construction industry groups are battling to fend off a possible resurfacing of proposals to make deep cuts in the federal gasoline and diesel taxes and “devolve” to the states more responsibilities for the federally aided highway program.The last big devolution proposal was the Transportation Empowerment Act, which Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) introduced in 2013. The proposal, backed by conservative groups such as Heritage Action for America, sought to
Related Links: Dept. of Justice press release 03/23/2015 Ex-Bechtel VP Pleads Guilty to Federal Kickback Charges Former Bechtel Corp. vice president Asem Elgawhary has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for taking $5.2 million in kickbacks on electric-power contracts in Egypt from 1996 to 2011, the Dept. of Justice says.Judge Deborah K. Chasanow imposed the sentence on March 23 in federal district court in Greenbelt, Md., and also directed Elgawhary to forfeit $5.2 million.Elgawhary, 73, of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty last Dec. 4 to mail fraud, conspiracy to launder money and interfering with federal internal revenue laws.DOJ said
Day by day, the May 31 expiration date for the stopgap federal highway and transit funding law is getting closer. What worries construction executives and state transportation officials is that Congress has shown no signs of agreement on finding the tens of billions of dollars needed to fund a new multiyear bill.Seeking to crack the deadlock,the American Road and Transportation Builders Association on March 12 proposed boosting the federal gasoline and diesel taxes by 15¢ per gallon. To offset the financial hit to motorists, it calls for a $90 annual rebate. The federal gas tax now is 18.4¢ and the
Related Links: New Water Resources Bill Sails Toward Enactment (ENR 6/2/2014 issue) [subscription] Port Group Leads Push for Hike in Harbor Fund Spending (ENR 10/13/2014 issue) [subscription] As congressional appropriators continue their work on spending bills for fiscal year 2016, industry groups are pushing for an increase in the Army Corps of Engineers civil works budget.A coalition including the American Association of Port Authorities, Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) and others wrote key appropriators on March 12, requesting $2.76 billion in 2016 for the Corps navigation program, up 17% from 2015. To help reach that goal, the coalition wants Congress to
Related Links: FHWA ET-Plus webpage (with links to summaries of latest rounds of tests) Six senators seek GAO study of guardrail issues (press release) A type of roadside guardrail that has sparked controversy about its safety has passed a set of crash tests, and states can continue to seek federal reimbursements for the cost of purchasing it, the Federal Highway Administration says.The test results, which FHWA officials announced on March 13, aren’t the last word, however, on the ET-Plus guardrail end caps, made by Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc. FHWA officials say that they will continue to review additional information about
Related Links: Link to ARTBA proposal summary and financial tables With several proposals on the table but no Capitol Hill consensus yet about a revenue source for a new long-term surface transportation bill, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association has put forward another idea: a sharp increase in federal motor-fuels taxes. The ARTBA plan, announced on March 12, calls for a 15¢-per-gal. boost in the gasoline and diesel tax, but it also has an unusual wrinkle—a $90 a year rebate to motorists to offset the fuel-tax hike’s impact on their pocketbooks.The federal gas tax now is 18.4¢ and the diesel
Related Links: Text of PRRIA bill (excluding floor amendments) Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of bill The House has approved a measure to authorize $7.2 billion over four years for Amtrak and has a focus on the railroad’s busy Northeast Corridor. It also aims to spark more private investment around Amtrak's stations and along its rights-of-way. The Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act (PRRIA), which the House passed on March 4 on a 316-101 vote, includes $5.8 billion for Amtrak capital expenses, operations and debt-repayment, or an average of $1.45 billion per year. Amtrak's fiscal 2015 appropriation for those activities is
