On Aug. 21, voters in Georgia’s 12th congressional district went to the polls to cast their ballots in the Republican primary runoff election. This race was particularly important to AGC, as one of its own was vying for the opportunity to face Rep. John Barrow (D) in the general election.
On Aug. 17, 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a direct final rule that will apply the requirements of the new cranes and derricks in construction standard – Subpart CC – to underground construction and demolition work.
AGC members from across the country met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to convey the construction industry’s concerns with the EM 385-1-1, 2008 safety manual revision. AGC contractors, along with members of the Dredging Contractors of America and the Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety, went section by section through the first draft revision manual with USACE safety representatives.
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual August update of its Economic and Budget Outlook. A copy of the report can be found here.
The Obama Administration recently announced that seven nationally and regionally significant infrastructure projects will be expedited to help modernize and expand five major U.S. ports, including the Port of Jacksonville, the Port of Miami, the Port of Savannah, the Port of New York and New Jersey, and the Port of Charleston.
On August 14, AGC urged members of the Senate Armed Services and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees to include small business contracting reforms as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013. In its letter, AGC specifically highlighted two such reforms: (1) counting small business participation at lower tiers towards small business procurement goals; and (2) addressing the definition of a “bundled contract” to include contracts for construction services, which the House included in its version of NDAA passed earlier this year.
Connecticut
The two candidates expected to claim their party’s nomination for the open U.S. Senate seat created by the retirement of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) did so with ease. Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT05) won his primary with 67.5% over former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz (D), while Linda McMahon (R) bested former Congressman Chris Shays (R) by receiving 72.7% of the vote.
On Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va., with the USS Wisconsin as a backdrop, Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) ended weeks of speculation on who he would select as his running mate. Over a four-month vetting process, Romney’s team narrowed twenty candidates to a group of three finalists, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
On Tuesday, voters in Michigan and Missouri went to the polls to cast ballots in their party’s primary contests.
Legislation to prevent U.S. EPA from regulating coal ash disposal and instead allow states to manage oversight of the waste has been introduced by a bipartisan group of senators. Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) were joined by over a dozen other co-sponsors for H.R. 2273, “The Coal Residual Reuse and Management Act.”