Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Wednesday introduced an 821-page bill (S. 1733) aimed at reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions through a cap and trade program, promoting energy independence, and transitioning to a clean energy economy.Overall, the "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" seeks to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.  The Senate bill takes a more aggressive approach in the short-term than the House-passed bill (H.R. 2454), which set  its 2020 target at 17 percent below 2005 levels, and President Obama who called for a 14 percent cut. The Kerry-Boxer bill is silent on the allocation of emission allowances under a cap and trade program, but reserves at least 25 percent of the emissions allocations every year to be sold at auction, with the proceeds dedicated to the Treasury to keep the bill deficit neutral.  The House-passed bill allocates 85 percent of the emission credits to affected industries to mitigate the costs of cap and trade, leaving only 15 percent up for auction, with the proceeds directed towards low- and moderate-income families.The Kerry-Boxer bill does not contain AGC-supported language included in the House-passed bill that would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.  Under the Act, if EPA moves to regulate greenhouse gases under nearly any section of the Act, it would trigger requirements under other provisions of the law that would impact construction, ranging from costly and time-consuming pre-construction permits for building construction and renovation to hurdles for transportation projects.The bill also includes new metropolitan and state-wide transportation planning requirements that would force states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations to address transportation-related greenhouse gases by including emission reduction targets and strategies to meet those targets in their transportation plans.  AGC has concerns with similar provisions in the House-passed bill that could make approvals for highway capacity projects-despite their benefits to congestion and, thus, emissions-more difficult to obtain. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to conduct hearings on the Kerry-Boxer bill in October, with consideration of the measure later in the month.  Five other Senate committees have jurisdiction over aspects of the legislation, including the Energy Committee, which approved an energy bill (S. 1462) in mid-July.  It is uncertain whether there are enough votes in the Senate to pass legislation that would create a cap and trade program to regulate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. AGC is working with committees of jurisdiction to address concerns related to provisions in the bill that would impact the construction industry.

The first quarterly reporting deadline for the Recovery Act is October 10, 2009, for all contracts and funds issued February 14 to September 30, 2009. Section 1512 of the Recovery Act requires information about the project and the jobs it creates, plus salary disclosure for certain federal contractors, to be reported to the central Federal web site, www.federalreporting.gov, which went live on August 17, 2009.As a tool for contractors to help detail everything they need to know about the reporting process, the Department of Defense has prepared a special presentation to AGC. To view the presentation, click here.AGC also has detailed information for contractors on how to comply with the reporting requirements: For more information on the reporting requirements contained in the Recovery Act, click here for federal contractors; here for federally-assisted work; and here for more information about the reporting process. For OMB's guidance and forms associated with reporting, see OMB's recipient reporting information.

On September 30, Senate and House Appropriators agreed to a Conference Report funding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works Program at a level of $5.4 billion for FY 2010. AGC sent a letter to Appropriators calling for a minimum of $5.5 billion, citing the current economic climate, high unemployment in the construction industry and the strong impact infrastructure investment has on our economy. Although the Conference Report included a slightly lower figure, new construction starts were funded for the first time in several years on a number of new key projects.

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) met on Thursday, October 1, to examine the progress to date on implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The hearing addressed implementation efforts by the Department of Transportation.The Secretary provided the Committee with information regarding the $1.5 billion in Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants.  Nearly 1,400 applications were received for $56.5 billion in total projects, which means that DOT will only be able to fund fewer than 3% of the total number requests.  They expect to be able to announce the grant recipients in December, well ahead of the February 2010 statutory deadline.T&I Committee members also received a status update from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the obligation and disbursements of stimulus funds.  Secretary LaHood shared with the Committee that following the 32nd week of the implementation of the stimulus, DOT has obligated $29.4 billion - or over 60% of their stimulus funds - on over 9,000 projects across the country.  The U.S. Treasury has so far disbursed almost $3.4 billion in payments for stimulus projects. For a video of the committee hearing and further information on the 225 day report, click here.According to the Committee, the stimulus funding for highway and transit projects has created or sustained 122,000 jobs.

The House Wednesday approved a three-month extension of authorization for the highway and transit programs that expire on September 30, 2009. The vote became embroiled in partisan gamesmanship when the Republican leadership opposed the bill being considered under a parliamentary procedure that required a two-thirds majority for passage but did not allow for amendments. House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee ranking republican John Mica (R-Fla.) said during the debate that the Republican leadership wanted the opportunity to offer an amendment to indicate opposition to increasing the federal gas tax as part of the reauthorization effort. The extension was approved 325-85.House T&I Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) continues to champion the effort to enact a six-year reauthorization measure with significantly increased funding. He favors limiting the length of an extension to three months so that Congress will continue to make progress on passage of a long-term bill. The Obama Administration and key members of the Senate are pushing for an eighteen-month extension to delay debate on the legislation and determine finding the necessary revenue until 2011. The Senate is expected to consider its version of the extension later this week or early next week.House and Senate conferees have drafted a Continuing Resolution to fund all government agencies that are not covered by an approved appropriations bill for the first 30 days of fiscal year 2010, which begins on October 1, 2009. Included in the CR is a provision to extend highway/transit authorization for one month should the separate extension effort not be passed in a timely fashion.

The House passed a three-month extension of authority for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) program authorization to allow funding to continue past September 30 when the latest extension expires. The FAA authorization expired in September 2008, but Congress has been unable to agree on a funding structure for the aviation programs and therefore short-term extensions have been necessary to keep these programs operating.The Senate has not yet considered an extension. To ensure that there is no gap in spending authorization, Congressional conferees on the Continuing Resolution included a 30-day FAA extension.

The Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC), a partnership of 28 national associations and construction unions, co-chaired by AGC and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, placed advertisements this week in Capitol Hill publications calling for a six-year surface transportation bill now.

After months of attempting to find common ground on a comprehensive health care reform bill, the Senate Finance Committee began their markup of the America's Healthy Future Act this week without any initial Republican support.  The goal of Democratic leaders was to finish the markup by the end of the week and begin the process of merging the bill with the version from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. However, senators have over 500 amendments to wade through and delays in receiving a final cost estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office appears to be a major hurdle in wrapping up the markup this week.Democratic leaders remain committed to passing legislation later this fall and have threatened to pass the bill without Republican support if necessary. While three House committees passed their versions of the legislation out of committee in July, Democratic leaders appear to be waiting to see how the Senate progresses on reform. AGC opposes the House version of reform.Details of the nearly $850 billion Senate Finance Committee draft are still being negotiated, but would impact many employers. The current draft would be financed by a 35 percent tax on premium plans (costing more than $8,00 for individuals, $21,000 for families), cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and penalties on employers for employees that receive government subsidies for coverage. The legislation requires all individuals to be covered either through employers, individual plans or through a government plan. The current draft does not require employers to offer coverage, but companies with more than 50 full-time workers would have to pay fees for each employee that is eligible and receives government subsidies. The subsidies are only available to low-income individuals.The legislation also contains tax credits for small employers to go toward purchasing health insurance. The credits are similar to other bills in that they provide a limited value and too few employers will qualify. However, the threshold for the tax credits may be raised through the amendment process.Aspects of the bill that remain troubling to AGC are the failure of the legislation to address malpractice reform and the overly burdensome tax compliance changes that are unnecessary and will overwhelm many businesses.

On September 17, 2009, the House passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which authorizes more than $4 billion for elementary and secondary school facility projects over the next two fiscal years, and ensures that school districts will receive funds for school modernization, renovation and repairs that create healthier, safer and more energy-efficient teaching and learning climates. The bill allocates the same percentage of funds to school districts that they receive under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, except that it guarantees each such district a minimum of $5,000. The bill also provides grants to states to help community colleges finance new construction, modernization, renovation and repair projects.While AGC supports the overall bill, it includes the same Buy American language as was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act).AGC has long-advocated for additional investment in school construction, as there is substantial opportunity for investment in upgrading and improving the unmet need for school construction and renovation, which is estimated to be $3.7 billion. The average age of a public school building is estimated to be over 40 years old, the same age that schools have been documented to deteriorate.The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. AGC will urge Senators to support the bill without the onerous Buy American restrictions.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick appointed Paul Kirk as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's interim replacement. The appointment will last only until January 19, 2010, at which time a special election will be held in Massachusetts to fill the seat for the remainder of Kennedy's term. Kirk, a long-time friend of Kennedy and former Democratic National Committee chairman, is not expected to run for election during the special election.The appointment comes on the heels of the Massachusetts legislature changing state law to allow for an interim senator. Kirk's appointment is an important development because it gives the Democrats their 60th vote, the threshold needed to overcome filibusters on controversial legislation.  AGC is concerned that this additional vote will bring Democrats closer to passing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and possibly partisan health care reform legislation.  While it appears Kirk will support EFCA as Sen. Kennedy did, there are at least two Senate Democrats who remain opposed to supporting cloture on the EFCA bill.