Next week, the Senate will consider passage of S. 601 – the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (WRDA). If passed, WRDA will help provide funding to address our nation’s aging navigational system of inland waterways, coastal harbors and ports, locks and dams, and flood control protections. It will also provide funding for the restoration of many critical environmental areas in our country. Take action NOW and urge your senators to pass WRDA.

Beginning next Thursday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will be considering the much discussed Senate “Gang of 8” immigration bill – The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The current bill is the work of a small, bipartisan group of senators - Schumer (D-N.Y.), McCain (R-Ariz.), Durbin (D-Ill.), Graham (R-S.C.), Menendez (D-N.J.), Rubio (R-Fla.), Bennet (D-Colo.), and Flake (R-Ariz.) – and the committee process will allow for the opportunity for greater input and modifications. The current bill addresses many AGC priorities by giving employers certainty that they have complied with the law and certainty that they have received authentic documentation from newly hired employees. The bill also eliminates the patchwork of local immigration laws and provides new avenues for legal immigration by creating a legal status for undocumented workers currently in the United States. The bill would require employers use E-Verify, comply with and retain records of the verification process, and prohibit employers from “knowingly” hiring an undocumented worker.  The bill also includes a temporary worker program; unfortunately, the program places unique restrictions on the construction industry that prevent construction from fully utilizing the future temporary worker visa program.

In a startling industry defeat, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to change, if not revoke, Section 404 “dredge-and-fill” discharge permits that have already been approved and issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).  Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. USEPA, No. 12-5150 (D.C. Cir. April 23, 2013). The federal court ruled that CWA Section 404(c) grants EPA this power “whenever [it] determines” that the discharge will have an “unacceptable adverse effect” on identified environmental resources. 

This week, President Obama nominated Anthony Foxx to serve as the next Secretary of Transportation. Foxx is currently serving as the Mayor of Charlotte, N.C., but announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection. Foxx is set to replace Ray LaHood, who announced his resignation soon after President Obama’s reelection.

On May 2, AGC sent a letter opposing the possible use of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District for the design and construction of a new 320-person AIT Barracks located at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif.

As projected, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.-5) defeated his House Democratic colleague, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-8), in Tuesday night’s special U.S. Senate party primary election. Markey racked up an expected 57-43 percent margin over Lynch, with a turnout of more than 530,000 Democratic voters. All of the candidates are vying for Secretary of State John Kerry's Senate seat, now held by interim Sen. Mo Cowan (D).  When all of the expenditures are totaled, Markey will have exceeded the $5 million mark in spending; Lynch a little over $2 million. 

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the nomination of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to Serve as U.S. Secretary of Transportation: "It is encouraging that President Obama has decided to nominate someone who has first-hand experience with the significant challenges posed by our chronic under-investment in infrastructure and years-long and broken regulatory review process. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx has a unique opportunity to promote new sources of revenue to address chronic shortfalls in federal funding for our aging network of highways, bridges, airports and transit systems. In addition, he will be well suited to ensure that the Department of Transportation takes the steps required in the most recent surface transportation legislation to significantly reduce the time it takes for federal officials to approve new transportation projects. We will never be able to compete globally if it takes over a decade to approve new ways of moving goods and services from one point to another in this country."

This week, the Senate bipartisan “gang of eight” unveiled their long-awaited immigration bill.  The 884 page bill covers border security, establishing an opportunity for earned legal status of undocumented workers, visa programs for highly skilled workers and temporary visas for lower skilled workers, and an employment verification system. AGC continues to review the entire bill and will be commenting on issues of high priority to the construction industry. One troubling provision is that the construction industry would be the only industry under a separate, smaller annual cap of eligible visas under the proposed temporary worker visas program for lesser-skilled workers.

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to proposed immigration reform legislation released today by the “Gang of Eight” Senators: “The Senators’ proposal for immigration reform provides a long-needed opportunity to fix a significantly broken system. That is why we will fully review the details of a very complex bill. We are deeply troubled that the proposal appears to arbitrarily single out the construction industry for a unique cap while providing a reasonable mechanism for the immigration system to adapt to evolving market conditions for every other segment of the domestic economy."

On April 1, AGC of America (AGC) and the Maryland Chapter jointly filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of a contractor’s claim for insurance coverage of a settlement that the contractor had reached with a project owner.  The insurance policy that lies at the heart of the case is the standard form of the commercial general liability (CGL) policy sold to AGC members across the United States.  The question the case presents is whether that policy entitles an insurance carrier to deny coverage of such a settlement if the carrier did not receive timely notice of the settlement or consent to its terms, even in the absence of any evidence that the carrier suffered any prejudice.