This week, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing that looked at the role of federal regulations as it pertains to Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety, including Hours of Service regulations. AGC submitted a statement outlining our transportation reauthorization priorities on issues affecting the construction industry under the jurisdiction of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

This week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) passed their fiscal year 2016 funding bill. The bill includes funding for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other related agencies.

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. The meeting is geared toward member company AGC member company CFOs, Treasurers, Finance Directors, Controllers, Tax Directors and other senior accounting professionals. Members have an opportunity to learn as well as formulate positions on tax and accounting matters that directly affect the bottom line and operations of AGC member companies of all sizes and specialties. Current FIF projects include helping construction companies to prepare for the new Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard Update.

By a vote of 36-22, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation that would send the administration’s proposed rule redefining federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act back to the drawing board.

The Department of Treasury and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) recently issued separate “requests for information” to aid in their development of regulations to implement the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA) and AGC joined with other construction industry stakeholders to submit detailed comments to Treasury and PBGC on April 6, 2015.

In January, NAVFAC Rear Admiral Kate Gregory sent AGC and all NAVFAC contractors a letter about her concerns for corporate construction safety given seven recent fatalities. Admiral Gregory requested AGC’s thoughts on means to improve safety on the jobsite.

Yesterday, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held their second hearing as they look to complete a highway bill prior to the expiration of the current extension on May 31.

On Jan. 30, President Obama released new Executive Order 13690, “The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS),” as directed by the President’s Climate Action Plan. Notably, the order expands the definition of “floodplain” (higher flood elevation and expanded flood hazard areas) by creating a new national minimum standard that all federal agencies must use – and builders must follow – for all federally-approved or funded projects. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is soliciting public input on newly released “guidelines” that will instruct federal agencies on how to implement the new standard.

On Tuesday, President Obama vetoed a House- and Senate-passed bill approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The president claimed that the bill bypassed the State Department’s process of determining whether the project is in the national interest. According to the White House, once that determination is made, “there will not be a significant delay in announcing the results of that review and ultimately making a decision on the project.”

This week, a majority of the House sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) showing strong bipartisan support for passing a multiyear transportation reauthorization bill with a sustainable funding source. The letter – which was signed by nearly 300 members of the House – also calls for an end to the numerous short-term extensions of transportation authorization.