Photo courtesy of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Froman, sworn in as USTR by Supreme Court Justice Kagan, faces new trade talks with the EU and ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Related Links: Pritzker Picked for Commerce Dept., Froman for USTR (enr.com 5/2/13) Froman's confirmation hearing (Webcast, prepared statements) Senate Finance Committee 6/6/13 As former White House aide Michael Froman begins his new job as U.S. trade representative, he faces a full agenda, including two major multilateral trade negotiations that will have an impact on U.S. construction-equipment makers and companies in a wide range of other industries.Froman, who was

Related Links: Summary of Rahall bill Link to letters from construction, transportation and organized labor groups supporting bill The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s top Democrat, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, has introduced a bill that would authorize $5.5 billion over two years to repair and upgrade highway bridges across the country.The measure, which Rahall introduced on June 19, would direct the funding to structurally deficient, functionally obsolete and fracture-critical bridges.The money would come from the general fund, not the Highway Trust Fund. The trust fund’s highway account, the prime federal revenue source for highway and bridge construction, has been

Courtesy of Washington State Dept. of Transportation After the Skagit bridge collapse, a temporary replacement moves forward. The accident may amplify calls for more infrastructure funding. Related Links: Link to Senate bridge hearing, including Webcast, prepared testimony Will the May 23 collapse of part of Washington state's Skagit River Bridge spark more federal funding for bridges? A senior House Democrat is seeking to boost bridge aid over two years. But intense federal budget pressure is likely to make a near-term hike a tough sell in Congress, particularly in the Republican-controlled House. Still, the Skagit bridge accident may at least amplify

Related Links: Fast-Track Replacement Planned For Collapsed Skagit River Bridge (ENR 6/3/13 issue) Washington DOT Skagit River Bridge Web page The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has released the remainder of the federal aid  to finance the repairs and replacement spans for the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said.Murray opened a June 13 Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on bridge issues a bit late, but the reason for the delay soon became clear.  Murray, the panel’s chair, said she had just received a call from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, telling her U.S. DOT was “releasing

Related Links: ENR Blog: DOT Nominee Foxx Clears a Hurdle Link to Webcast of Foxx's 5/22/13 confirmation hearing Anthony Foxx, President Obama’s nominee to head the Dept. of Transportation, has advanced a step toward confirmation, with the Senate commerce committee’s unanimous vote June 10 to move his nomination to the full Senate.The committee’s top Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, said at Foxx’s May 22 confirmation hearing that he wouldn’t vote the nomination out of committee until DOT responded to his request for information about how it implemented budget sequester cuts to Federal Aviation Administration programs. Those cuts resulted in

Courtesy of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Gibbs, House water-resources and environment subcommittee chairman, said, "We are studying infrastructure projects to death." Related Links: Focus on Water-Resources Bill Shifts to the House (ENR 6/3/13 issue) Senate WRDA Bill Nears Passage (ENR 5/20/13 issue) As House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders plan their version of a Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, it's clear they want the bill to include provisions to accelerate Army Corps of Engineers civil-works project reviews. The WRDA the Senate passed on May 15 already includes language that aims to move projects faster through reviews.A June 5

Related Links: House Appropriations Committee summary of milcon/VA bill (excluding floor amendments) White House budget office statement on milcon/VA bill Boehner's June 6 letter to Obama A battle is brewing between President Obama and House Republicans over 2014 appropriations. The White House issued veto threats for the first two House-passed 2014 spending bills—for Dept. of Defense (DOD) construction-Veterans Affairs and the Dept. of Homeland Security—and any other 2014 appropriations bills that track the budget resolution the House approved in March.In response, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wrote Obama, saying the president was taking a "reckless" approach and was threatening to

Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release, with data tables ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's statement, analysis AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's statement, analysis Construction’s unemployment rate fell in May to 10.8%, its lowest level since October 2008 and an improvement over April’s 13.2%, as the industry added 7,000 jobs last month.The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest monthly employment snapshot, released on June 7, also states that construction’s May jobless rate was down from the May 2012 figure of 14.2%.The BLS unemployment rates are not adjusted for seasonal differences.BLS said construction’s job gains last month came in nearly all industry

Photo by AP Wideworld President Obama, with Gov. Christie, visits Asbury Park, N.J., seven months after Sandy blasted towns along the coast. Obama said, "The Jersey shore is back, and it is open for business," but it still faces "a long road ahead." Related Links: Sandy Recovery, An ENR Special Report Moving On After Sandy ENR 1/28/13 - Senate Vote Next Step for $50.5B Post-Sandy Funding Bill When President Obama paid a May 28 visit to the New Jersey shore, he met Gov. Chris Christie (R) and stopped at towns slammed by Superstorm Sandy seven months earlier. Obama noted the

Related Links: House Appropriations Committee summary of bill (excluding floor amendments) List of adopted floor amendments (with brief descriptions) The House has approved a fiscal 2014 spending measure that would trim both the Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ construction programs.The bill, which the House passed on June 4 by an overwhelming 421-4 vote, provides $9.95 billion for DOD construction, down $670 million, or 6%, from pre-sequester fiscal 2013 levels.The measure—the first FY 2014 appropriations bill to clear either chamber of Congress—also slashes the VA major-projects construction account 36%, to $342 million, which is the amount President Obama