In December 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued joint guidance on the terms and procedures used to determine the extent of federal control over water and wetlands, building upon previous guidance issued in June 2007.

AGC and 17 building coalition partners published a new ad in Roll Call, Capitol Hill's most widely-read newspaper on January 19.

Last week the House Appropriations Committee and House Ways and Means Committee approved their portions of the $825 billion economic recovery bill, clearing the measure for full House consideration.  The full House is expected to vote on final passage tomorrow (Jan. 28).

Whether you attended the recent AGC Building Contractors Conference in La Quinta, CA or wish you did, you will certainly find the presentations from the Conference to be of interest.

John Tocci Sr., chair of the AGC BIMForum, was named one of the Top 25 Newsmakers of 2008 by Engineering News-Record (ENR) in its January 12, 2009 issue.

By a party line vote, the House Ways and Means Committee on January 22 passed the tax component of the economic stimulus bill, clearing the measure for House floor consideration.

Dr. Stephen S. Fuller of George Mason University testified on behalf of AGC before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday.

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) Wednesday introduced S.292, a bill to repeal the 3 percent tax withholding requirement set to go into effect in 2011.

More than 120 attendees participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference held January 7-10 in La Quinta, Calif.  This conference brought together many of the top building construction firms, service and supply companies, design professionals and owners.  Attendees benefited from presentations and discussions on topics such as Integrated Project Delivery, the economic outlook, diversity, surety issues, green building construction, contract documents and renewable energy, in addition to networking opportunities with colleagues at evening receptions, luncheons, and the golf tournament.   The luncheon featured keynote speaker Steve Sandherr, AGC CEO, who provided an update on the economic stimulus proposals and other tax, labor and environmental issues that are important to building contractors, as well as an overview of the new Administration and 111th Congress.  The AGC BIMForum Meeting was also held in La Quinta January 8-9 with the theme "The Path to IPD."  More than 170 attendees actively participated in two full days of presentations and working sessions.  For more information about the AGC BIMForum, please go to www.bimforum.org.  Don't forget to save the dates for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference June 10-13, 2009, at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., and the AGC BIMForum Meeting May 28-29, 2009, at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas in Dallas, Texas.For more information, contact Mike Stark at (703) 837-5365 or starkm@agc.org.

AGC of America is working to unite building, highway, and water groups to talk about the stimulus we can deliver.  We are pushing for as much stimulus as possible for vertical and horizontal construction using as many existing programs as possible to aide quick stimulus.