House and Senate leaders have appointed their conferees, setting the stage for the start of negotiations on a surface transportation reauthorization proposal when Congress returns from recess next week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appointed 14 senators – eight Democrats and six Republicans – and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) appointed 33 representatives – 20 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairperson Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.), who will serve as the conference committee Chair, has scheduled the first official meeting of the conference for Tuesday, May 8.

Now is the key time to tell your Members of Congress that the forthcoming final guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is bad for your business and the construction industry as a whole. The final guidance document – which describes EPA and the Corps’ view of their authority to regulate all waters and wetlands — significantly changes and expands what water features are subject to federal jurisdiction and permit requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 

In a two day session June 14 and 15 the AGC Tax and Fiscal Affairs Committee (which is transitioning to the Financial Issues Forum)  will be meeting in Washington, DC to discuss the legislative outlook for tax and financial policies, the latest activities at the Federal Accounting Standards Board and the latest actions on construction risk management. 

The House Appropriations Committee approved a $32.1 billion energy and water FY 2013 spending bill Wednesday after adding a policy rider that would bar the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing their guidance that clarifies which U.S. waters fall under federal protection via the Clean Water Act. The amendment was introduced by Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) and passed by a vote of 29-20.

Appropriations panels in the House and Senate this week passed legislation that would increase funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) FY 2013 budget over President Obama’s initial request.

Both the Committee and the Witnesses stated the obvious point that tax reform is important and probably critical with 100 expired or expiring tax provisions on the to-do list. The hearing witnesses were limited to members of the House who had introduced or cosponsored tax legislation that included “tax extender” items this Congress.  The member witnesses made it clear how difficult comprehensive tax reform will be; each had tax breaks that they wanted to protect and/or promote.

Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to meet with the Senate to negotiate a bill funding federal highway and transit programs. House Members approved a motion to go to conference with the Senate (who moved to go to Conference on Tuesday) on the transportation reauthorization bill by unanimous consent, setting up what could be several weeks of discussions with the Senate. 

Earlier this week, the Senate failed to pass a resolution of disapproval of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule on representation-case procedures. The vote failed 45-54, mostly along party lines with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) was the only Republican who voted no. The NLRB rule, known as the “quickie election” or “ambush election” rule, would expedite the union representation election cycle to as little as 14 days. It is bad for both employers and employees.

In the continually changing saga of the National Labor Relations Board’s new regulation to require most private-sector employers to post certain notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Board, the very latest development is that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia this week granted an injunction pending appeal of a legal challenge to the rule brought by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, of which AGC is a member, and co-plaintiffs. 

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on legislation that would help reform the nation’s job training system by strengthening employer engagement in state and local workforce decisions, as well as giving states and localities more flexibility, the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012. AGC sent a letter to the committee outlining AGC’s support for a strong and skilled workforce.