Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline by a vote of 270-152.  Twenty-nine Democrats voted to support the measure, which passed the Senate on Jan. 29.  The bill faces an expected veto by President Obama, who says he wants the State Department to finish an ongoing review process before deciding to approve the project.For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

Yesterday, the House, by a vote of 367 to 55, approved H.R. 5021, a $10.8 billion Highway Trust Fund patch which provides sufficient revenue to maintain current funding levels through May 2015. The bill also extends MAP-21 authorization for the highway and transit programs for those eight months. The bill received strong bipartisan support from 181 Republicans and 186 Democrats, while 45 Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against. Revenue needed to support the patch came from a general fund transfer which was off- set by a variety of tax code adjustments including extending customs fees on importers, taking money from the leaking underground storage tank fund (LUST) and changing rules on private pension contributions. AGC and our coalition partners in the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) urged the House to support H.R. 5021.

Both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee moved legislation today to provide sufficient revenue to the Highway Trust Fund in order to keep highway and transit programs operational until May 31, 2015. The House bill included language extending MAP-21 authorization, at current levels, to May 31, while the Senate bill did not. However, the Senate provided sufficient revenue to carry the program until June 1 and is expected to add extension language at some point.

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the release of a highway funding and tax reduction proposal released today by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): “This proposal provides the kind of long-term funding solutions that virtually every independent, bipartisan commission has said are needed to repair and upgrade our aging transportation network.  As important, by finding the courage to cross aisles and tackle difficult funding questions, the Senators are demonstrating the legislative process at its finest. 

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the release of the final version of the joint House-Senate conference committee’s Water Resources Reform & Development Act: "The release of this water resources bill is yet another sign that investing in infrastructure is something members of both parties in both houses of Congress can and do support. Republicans and Democrats alike understand and appreciate the economic wisdom of improving our aging system of inland waterways, harbors, ports, locks and dams.

On Oct. 23, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, by a 417-3 vote. With AGC members sending hundreds of letters of support to their members of Congress and an active AGC lobbying campaign, the WRRDA bill passed by an overwhelming margin, despite opposition from anti-construction funding and environmental groups. AGC would like to thank all of our members and chapters who sent letters in support of WRRDA.

On Sept. 11, House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) joined with Committee Ranking member Nick Rahall (D-WV) to introduce the Water Resources Reform & Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, which authorizes approximately $10 billion for new construction projects through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Civil Works program (i.e., navigation, flood control, locks, dams, and environment restoration).  Take action and urge your U.S. Representative to support H.R. 3080.

An estimated 1,400 people working for Pittsburgh area construction firms and their suppliers will lose their jobs because a Pennsylvania Senate-passed transportation funding measure failed in the state house, according to an analysis released today by AGC of America.  Those job losses would be three times higher than the number of construction jobs added in the area during the past year and threaten to reverse recent industry job gains, association officials cautioned.

Today, the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The legislation, The Northern Route Approval Act (H.R. 3) was passed by a vote 33-24 with Democrats Cheri Bustos (Ill.) and Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) joining all committee Republicans in voting yes.  Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) voted present.

Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee held a hearing on the implementation of the transportation reauthorization bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).  At the hearing, Chairman Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and members of the subcommittee heard from Department of Transportation (DOT) modal administrators as to the progress being made in implementing programmatic reform and meeting deadlines mandated in MAP-21.  The subcommittee heard from Victor Mendez of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Anne Ferro of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and David Strickland of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).