Related Links: What the Interim 'Fiscal Cliff Deal' Means for Construction White House summary of fiscal cliff agreement An at-the-wire deal that held the government at the brink of the "fiscal cliff" will hike taxes for some small construction firms and give companies a short reprieve from mandatory spending cuts slated to hit most federal construction accounts on Jan. 2. All in all, the tax increases would have been much steeper and more widespread and the budget cuts immediate if there had been no deal.But the product of the agreement, the American Taxpayers Relief Act, which Congress approved Jan. 1
Related Links: U.S. Dept. of Justice press release Text of Caddell statement Text of Justice Dept. agreement In an agreement with the Justice Dept., Caddell Construction Co. has paid a $2-million penalty to settle criminal fraud charges that the company intentionally made false statements to the Dept. of Defense concerning a small firm with which Caddell worked on three military construction projects.Under the agreement, announced on Dec. 27, Justice will not prosecute Montgomery, Ala.-based Caddell for its allegedly improper pay requests to DOD that included the false information. Justice noted Caddell’s “substantial cooperation,” voluntary disclosures and improvements in its reporting
Related Links: BLS employment report for December 2012 AGC release, analysis of December construction jobless figures ABC release, analysis of December construction jobless figures Construction's unemployment rate rose in December to 13.5%, from November’s 12.2%, even with an industry gain of 30,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.The latest monthly BLS employment report, released on Jan. 4, also showed that construction’s jobless rate last month was down from the December 2011 figure of 16.0%. December marked the 27th-straight month in which construction posted year-over-year improvement in its unemployment rates.The BLS rates are not adjusted to reflect seasonal
Related Links: White House summary of bill's provisions ENR 12/3/12: Construction Industry Worries About Fiscal Cliff Link to text of bill as approved by House, Senate After a long legislative push on New Year's Day, Congress has cleared a measure to avert most of the tax hikes and temporarily hold off the mandatory spending cuts of the "fiscal cliff." President Obama signed the bill into law on Jan. 2.The package is largely a collection of extensions of tax provisions, and some tax hikes, affecting individuals and businesses, from large corporations to small, family-owned firms, including many in construction. It also
Related Links: Independent review board report Secretary Clinton's letter to Foreign Relations Chairman Kerry A highly critical report reviewing the September terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, has recommended increased funding for embassy security improvements, including new facilities in high-risk areas.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who requested the independent review panel report, already has asked Congress for authority to transfer $736 million to embassy upgrades and new construction from another State Dept. account.In transmitting the Accountability Review Board review to Capitol Hill on Dec. 18, Clinton said she agreed with the report's 29 recommendations and has
Related Links: After Elections, Construction Looks for Action on Key Issues MAP-21 Transportation Measure Goes on the Books New Corps of Engineers Commander Bostick Taking Stock High Court Declines to Hear Jacobs' Appeal of Minnesota Bridge Case During the contentious and costly 2012 elections, construction industry and union groups poured more than $139 million total into federal campaigns. But after the votes were in on Nov. 6, the balance of power was little changed between the parties.Industry, which generally backed Republican candidate Mitt Romney, and organized labor, which supported the victorious President Obama, both predict a second Obama term will
Related Links: NGA-NASBO Fall 2012 Fiscal State of States Report The fiscal condition of U.S. states continues to improve as revenue and spending rise, but the gains are modest, and many states are still not back to their pre-recession financial levels, says a new report from the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO).The latest NGA-NASBO biannual "Fiscal Survey of States," released on Dec. 14, says that states’ total general-fund revenue for fiscal year 2013 is expected to rise 3.9%, to $692.8 billion, finally bringing income above the pre-recession 2008 mark. For most states,
Rendering courtesy of U.S. General Services Administration New downtown Los Angeles U.S. courthouse draws on appropriations from 2001 through 2005. Courtesy of U.S. General Services Administration New building is 550,000 sq ft, compared with earlier plan of more than 1 million sq ft. Related Links: GSA Details Plans for Downtown Los Angeles ENR Blog: Capitol Hill Flap Over Planned L.A. Federal Courthouse (Nov. 2011) After false starts and one full stop over the past 11 years, a new federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles now seems to be on its way to becoming a reality. The General Services Administration has
Related Links: U.S.-Russia Trade Bill on Fast Track to Passage (ENR 7/30/12) Commerce Dept. overview: U.S. construction-equipment exports to Russia Legislation that is expected to spur U.S. construction-equipment exports to Russia has cleared its final congressional hurdle, as the Senate approved a bill to establish permanent normal trade relations between the two countries.Senate passage came on Dec. 6, by a strong, bipartisan 92-4 vote.The measure, which the House had approved on Nov. 16, next goes to the White House for President Obama’s expected signature.Under PNTR, the U.S. will be able to take advantage of export benefits provided by Russia as
Related Links: OMB supplemental appropriations request to Congress Statement from Govs. Cuomo, Christie Statement from House Appropriations Chairman Rogers The Obama administration has asked Congress to approve $60.4 billion in emergency funds to help East Coast states recover and rebuild from Hurricane Sandy’s heavy blows and to take longer-range steps to guard against massive damage from future storms.The supplemental funding request, which the White House sent to Capitol Hill on the evening of Dec. 7, includes $47 billion for relatively immediate relief, repairs and rebuilding and $13 billion to help the states and their localities put in place permanent mitigation.The
