Related Links: Full NAM report A new study from the National Association of Manufacturers says that a long-term hike in infrastructure spending could give a boost to the U.S. economy, and increase jobs and workers’ take-home pay. The report, released on Sept. 23, says that a targeted, large spending boost—about $83 billion a year in 2009 dollars—over 15 years could push U.S. Gross Domestic Product up 1.3% by 2020 and by 2.9% 10 years later. The study, titled "Catching Up," also forecasts that such an infusion would raise household after-tax pay by $1,300 by 2020 and $4,400 by 2030.There have

Related Links: Summary of Senate Finance Committee EXPIRE act Tax Extensions Before End of 2013 No Sure Thing (ENR 12/16-23/2013 issue) [subscription] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he plans to take up legislation in the coming lame-duck session to extend or re-instate several expiring or expired tax credits."We have to do the tax extenders," Reid told reporters at a Sept. 18 press conference, noting that the absence of extensions has been "extremely hurtful" for businesses and individuals. The post-election session is scheduled to start on Nov. 12.The Senate Finance Committee on April 3 approved a package that

Related Links: House P3 panel report House transportation committee press release Feds Step Up Quest for Private Infrastructure Financing (enr.com 9/9/2014) [subscription In a sign of increased federal interest in using private money to help build infrastructure, a special House panel charged with studying public-private partnerships has recommended government actions that could improve how P3s are used in highway, transit, water and other projects.In a report released on Sept. 17, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s P3 panel called for a variety of steps, including creating a U.S. Dept. of Transportation procurement office to develop performance standards for public-private ventures

Rendering courtesy of Maine Dept. of Transportation One of the largest TIGER awards is $25 million, for the planned $158.5-million bridge across the Piscataqua River, between Maine and New Hampshire. Related Links: DOT press release on TIGER awards, with links to more information Profiles of each TIGER-winning project After another fierce funding competition, the Dept. of Transportation has awarded $584 million to highway, bridge, rail, port, pedestrian-safety and other projects in the latest round of its TIGER grant program.The sixth Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program awards, which DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced on Sept. 12, went to 72 projects

Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics report on 2013 fatal injuries Link to further BLS fatal injury data, including previous years. New Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting RequirementsNAICS Update and Reporting Revisions The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Sept. 11 released new final requirements that expand the types of non-fatal injuries that most companies must report to the agency.Under the new severe-injuries-and-illness reporting requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, employers must notify OSHA within eight hours after a worker is killed on the job and within 24 hours after a worker suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or

Courtesy of U.S. Dept. of the Treasury DOT Secretary Foxx, at Obama administration infrastructure summit, announced loan and bond financing for Florida highway, Pennsylvania bridge projects. Related Links: Treasury Dept. release on infrastructure summit, with link to report on innovative financing White House backgrounder on infrastructure summit The Obama administration is pushing ahead with its campaign to draw more private dollars to narrow the huge U.S. infrastructure-finance gap, announcing on Sept. 9 a flurry of project-funding actions.Officials made the announcements at a Washington, D.C., “summit,” at which Cabinet secretaries heard ideas from public and private officials on further ways to

Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics report for August, including data tables ABC economist Anirban Basu's analysis of BLS report AGC economist Ken Simonson's analysis of BLS report Construction’s August unemployment rate edged up from July’s level, but still was markedly improved from the August 2013 rate, as the industry added 20,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. has reported.The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest monthly employment status report, released on Sept. 5, showed that construction jobless rate rose to 7.7% in August, from July’s 7.5%, but was down from the year-earlier level of 9.1%.The rates aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations.BLS

Related Links: Obama FY 15 Budget a Mixed Bag Construction Week: Export-Import Bank Gets Three-Year Extension of Funding As Congress returns after a five-week break, lawmakers will face a short must-do list before, in a few weeks, leaving Washington again for a final burst of pre- election campaigning.The most pressing September agenda item is a measure to fund federal agencies, including construction programs, for at least part of the next fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1. Also expiring on Sept. 30 is the authorization for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., which aids construction-equipment makers and other companies seeking

Photo by AP Wideworld New land ports of entry, such as Mariposa Station in Arizona, are a GSA priority. Related Links: Information on GSA Land Ports of Entry Program GSA Congressional Testimony on Fiscal 2015 Budget Request As the General Services Administration waits to see how much construction funding congressional appropriators will provide for FY2015, the reality of a more austere overall budget environment is reshaping the way GSA works with the architecture-engineering-construction industry, says Michael Gelber, deputy commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service.Gelber told a joint Design-Build Institute of America-Society of American Military Engineers symposium in Washington, D.C., on

Related Links: U.S. DOT announcement of TIFIA loan Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority 5/30/2014 financial update for Silver Line FHWA list of TIFIA loan applications and status (updated 8/14/2014) Financing for the $2.8-billion second leg of a northern Virginia rail transit line to run to Washington Dulles International Airport and beyond has taken a step forward with the closing of a $1.3-billion federal loan.The U.S. Dept of Transportation said on Aug. 20 that it had closed a $1.28-billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which operates Dulles and Ronald Reagan Washington National