Nicole Nason, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will address the Highway and Transportation Division on during AGC’s 2020 Convention in Las Vegas this March. As FHWA Administrator, Nason is currently spearheading development of the Trump administration’s principles on FAST Act reauthorization. A leading traffic safety advocate, Nason headed up the National Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the George W. Bush administration and served in several other USDOT positions prior to her appointment to lead to organization. During the division meeting, Nason will give her insights into the outlook for reauthorization this year and highlight the Administration’s legislative priorities. Click here for more information and to register for the 2020 AGC Annual Convention.
On Dec. 20, President Trump signed two spending packages totaling $1.4 trillion, preventing another year-end government shutdown and providing annual funding to all agencies of the federal government through September 30, 2020. Overall, federal construction accounts saw about a nine percent increase—or $12.4 billion—in funding in comparison to FY2019 funding levels. A full AGC analysis of federal and federal-aid construction accounts for FY2020 can be found here.
AGC joined with our highway construction industry partners in a letter to key Congressional transportation leaders to urge support for allowing federal funding to be used to implement automated enforcement in highway construction work zones. The letter pointed out that most work zone fatalities and injuries can be attributed to speeding in work zones. Speed enforcement is effective at reducing speed, but when it is carried out by a law enforcement officer, that person is placed at risk too. Implementing automated enforcement systems in work zones is successful noting that Maryland’s implementation of automated enforcement in work zones resulted in an 80% reduction in speeding violations and fatalities have dropped by half since the program’s inception. Some states lack resources to implement the technology and federal funds cannot currently be used to support this life-saving technology.
Chairmen of Senate Finance and House T&I Report Progress
Congress has completed action on compromise omnibus appropriations legislation to fund government operations through the remainder of fiscal 2020 and the President has said he will sign the measure before the current continuing resolution expires on December 20. US Department of Transportation (US DOT) programs are included in the deal. The legislation funds the highway and transit programs at FAST Act authorized levels and includes an additional $2.676 billion from the general fund (see chart below). This is the third year in a row that these programs have received supplemental general fund dollars but since the supplemental funding is below last year’s amounts the net result is flat funding for the highway program and a net decrease in transit formula funding. The agreement also cuts transit Capital Investment Grants by $575 million below last year’s level. The Airport Improvement Program will be funded at $3.75 million, $400 million above authorized levels but down $100 million from FY 2019. Congress continues to favor the Build grant program, which funds multi-modal projects, by increasing the funding by $100 million above last year’s level to $1 billion. As this is the final year of FAST Act authorization, AGC has made reauthorization a priority in this Congress to avoid future disruptions to highway and transit funding.
On Dec. 19, the Senate passed federal funding legislation that the House agreed to on Dec. 17. Pending President Trump’s signature, this measure will fully fund government operations through fiscal year (FY) 2020. Among the many AGC priorities in this legislation, full funding for surface transportation programs at FAST Act authorized levels and an additional $2.676 billion from the general fund for highway and transit projects were included. Although this marks the third straight year Congress provided general fund dollars above authorized levels, this supplemental amount was slightly decreased in this year’s negotiations, resulting in flat funding for the highway program and a net decrease in transit formula funding. Congress also continues to favor the BUILD grant program, which funds multi-modal projects, by increasing program funding by $100 million above last fiscal year’s level to $1 billion. Additional information on funding for other transportation programs is included in the table below. As this funding is for the final fiscal year authorized by the FAST Act, AGC will continue to urge Congress to enact a surface transportation reauthorization bill prior to the end of FY 2020 avoid any future disruptions to highway and transit funding.
In December 5 US DOT announced a set of changes to its approach to rulemaking, guidance and enforcement. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, calling the changes the "rule on rules," said the change will provide greater transparency and strengthen due process in enforcement actions. The regulation "outlines the department's regulatory priorities, such as ensuring that there are no more regulations than necessary, that where they impose burdens, regulations are narrowly tailored to address identified market failures or statutory mandates, and that they specify performance objectives when appropriate," according to the rule language. Specifically, it codifies several of President Donald Trump's orders on regulation, including a directive to eliminate two regulations for every one enacted, budgeting procedures and the implementation of a Regulatory Reform Task Force.
The second in a series of informational webinars to highlight successes in the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP) will be held Thursday, December 12 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The webinar is an opportunity to learn about the HCWP, and how the Public Workforce System and highway industry can work together to identify, train, and place individuals into high need highway construction jobs. The December 12 webinar will feature presentations by Los Angeles and Arizona HCWP locations. Participation information:
On Dec. 3, the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) urged House and Senate negotiators to complete action on the fiscal year 2020 transportation appropriations bill. Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the legislation and must now agree to a compromise bill. The TCC applauded both the House and Senate versions for fully funding the program levels authorized by the FAST Act. It also called for the final bill to include at least $2.7 billion in supplemental highway funding and $750 million in supplemental public transportation funding to address surface transportation needs in all states, $1 billion for the BUILD grant program, and additional funding for Airport Improvement Program grants. The U.S. Department of Transportation programs, along with other federal programs, are currently operating under a short-term continuing resolution that expires on Dec. 20.
Every year, AGC of America’s Student Chapter members and faculty gather together at AGC’s Annual Convention to connect with chapters across the nation, share ideas, become exposed to industry trends, issues and technological developments and experience the excitement of entering this important industry! Make sure your student chapter members join us again this year for our annual Student Chapter meeting where we will recognize the AGC Education and Research Foundation award winners, hear presentations by the 2019 Outstanding Student Chapter Contest winners and participate in Student Chapter best practices roundtable discussions. AGC of America also offers students the chance to participate in the Bill Ratz Memorial Topgolf Tournament with the AGC Education and Research Foundation. Student and faculty registration rates can be found on the AGC Convention website. To obtain dates and times for student sessions at Convention and to get your students registered please contact paige.packard@agc.org.