The Obama administration appealed a 2-1 ruling against the health care law by the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, likely setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown.  The 11th Circuit held that the individual mandate to carry health insurance is unconstitutional.  Conversely, the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio, held that the mandate is constitutional.  Earlier this month, the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., dismissed a challenge to the law on procedural grounds—finding that states and individuals did not have the right to sue over the law until the individual mandate takes effect in 2014.

This week, AGC met with staff from the National Economic Council, which is primarily responsible for taking ideas and initiatives and translating them into policy for the administration. The primary focus of the meeting was the proposed National Clean Water Trust Fund (CWTF) and the potential role it could play in the administration’s upcoming policy for the Join Select Deficit Reduction Committee’s work to reduce the deficit.

Climate change once again moves to the forefront in public discourse after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General released a report criticizing the process EPA used in determining that greenhouse gases (GHG) endanger public health and welfare.  The report, requested by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) in April 2010, determines EPA did not complete the necessary peer reviews for a “highly influential scientific assessment,” which was warranted in this case.  Sen. Inhofe and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) are calling for committee hearings and further review of the report findings—ensuring that GHGs will be part of the overall discussion on EPA regulations moving forward.

The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday, Oct. 5 on H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, which would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rewrite three new proposed regulations for the cement industry. 

AGC submitted comments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council on Sept. 29, in response to a proposal by the government that would standardize past performance evaluation factors and performance ratings.  The proposal also would require that all past performance information be entered into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), the government-wide past performance feeder system.

After two weeks of partisan wrangling, Congress approved a continuing resolution (CR) that will allow the government to continue operating through Oct. 4. The legislation was needed to provide a short-term fix, until negotiations for a six-week bill can resume when the House returns from recess next Monday.  The Senate has already approved a six-week bill to fund the federal government through Nov. 18.  A CR is needed because none of the 12 appropriations bills have been passed and signed into law by the Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 2011.

The House Ways and Means Committee will mark up H.R. 674 as early as the week of Oct. 10 and the full House is planning to vote on the bill as early as the week of Oct. 24.  Please contact members of the House and urge them to cosponsor and support passage of HR 674.

This week, AGC held its annual National & Chapter Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., which brought chapter leaders together to discuss best practices and meet with Members of Congress to address AGC's top legislative issues.

On Sept. 21, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee approved, by a 22-13 vote, H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act, sponsored by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).  The legislation would require all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

Sept. 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the highway and transit programs at the same level as FY 2011. In addition, the bill provides an additional $1.9 billion in emergency relief funding and $550 million for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants Program. These funding levels contrast significantly from the bill approved earlier by the House transportation appropriations subcommittee which set funding at far lower levels. Those funding levels adhere to the principles set in a budget resolution passed in the House earlier this year, which directed that highway and transit funding be set at levels supported by Highway Trust Fund revenue.