Engineering Inc. - January/February 2004 - 14

 It is generally true that Republicans favor the tax changes, tort It's
very hard to generalize, We do seem to find a more reform and regulatory s
a y s John Zogby, the noted f r i e n d l y face in Congress and n a t i o
n a l pollster and political the Bush administration these streamlining
that help analyst. When you get down to days, in terms of the regulatory
specifics, there were prosperous issues that impact many of our businesses
thrive. But y e a r s [for business] under firms, says Steve Hall, ACEC
Democrats. During the Johnson g o v e r n m e n t affairs director. years,
money was put into com- R e f o r m i n g the FLSA lan- historically,
Democrats munity action programs, such as guished for many years, and it's
urban renewal, that stimulated really only under this adminis- in the White
House c o n s t r u c t i o n and government t r a t i o n that it has
gotten any contracting. And before George sort of attention, or made any
and Congress have H.W. Bush, the largest tax cut in sort of serious
progress. h i s t o r y was under President Tort Reform Kennedy. boosted
infrastructure Tor t reform also tends to fare The Dubya Years b e t t e r
under the GOP than funding and the higher S i n c e George W. Bush took u n
d e r Democrats, who tradi- office three years ago, there have t i o n a l
l y dislike tort reform been significant strides in one b e c a u s e of
their ties to trial taxes necessary to pay a r e a of chief concern to the
lawyers and consumer groups. engineering industry reform- And engineering
firms complain for it. ing the Fair Labor Standards Act that plaintiffs
seeking culprits FLSA . Bush's Labor Depart- f o r various types of
pollution John Zogby ment has proposed updating the often file lawsuits
that unfairly 65-year-old act to redefine what target them. a white-collar
employee is for There are many companies, the purposes of overtime pay.
like mine, who find themselves w h e n we had nothing to do n e s s Act of
2003. Insurance The House approved the plan involved in asbestos litigation
with creating, manufacturing or industry trade groups pushed for and the
Senate rejected it. But installing asbestos, says Dave a n o t h e r vote
on the matter t h e Bush administration does C a m p b e l l , vice
president for before Congress was to adjourn There has been not need
consent from Congress government relations at Weston i n November, though
the remarkable bipartisan to make the changes, and they Solutions and
chairman of the c h a n c e s of it happening cooperation on trans- a r e
expected to do so shortly Public Markets Subcommittee appeared unlikely at
press time. portation projects and after the New Year. of ACEC's
Environmental Busi- While both sides recognize water projects. There is
Moreover, the industry finds ness Committee. We become that [the
class-action issue] has no Republican way to Bush and Republicans in gen-
involved in litigation because we t o be resolved, probably it's build a
bridge, and no eral sympathetic to easing the m a y have had workers who
Republicans who are a bit more Democratic way to tedious requirements
often nec- c a m e across asbestos, but we sympathetic, Campbell says.
build a sewage-treat- essary to conduct business. Since don't think we
should have to ment plant. The mem- Tax Reform taking office, the
President has retain liability for issues that we bers are interested in
reduced the obligation of indus- didn't create. Tax reform is another
issue that meeting the real needs trial plants to install stronger One of
Bush's priorities in seems to inspire Republicans to of their
constituents. and often expensive emission 2003 was to curb huge settle-
be more helpful than Democ- RICHARD L. CORRIGAN, controls when expanding
opera- ments from class-action lawsuits. r a t s , according to Richard L.
CH2M HILL tions. He has allowed the timber The House passed his proposal
Corrigan, senior vice president industry to do more logging in three
times, most recently last f o r government affairs with areas previously
off limits, eased spring. But Democrats thwarted C H 2 M HILL, an
employee- l a w s that hindered developers G O P efforts to get the plan
owned engineering company. from building on their land, and through the
Senate. By a single The industry, for instance, made it easier for
businesses to vote on October 22, the Senate wants to make sure that engi-
work with regulations for clean- killed any chance of bringing up n e e r i
n g companies retain the ing the environment. for a vote the Class Action
Fair- option of using a cash-account- 1 4 E N G I N E E R I N G INC. J a n
u a r y l February 2004
Engineering Inc. - January/February 2004

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