Engineering Inc. - September/October 2003 - 10

L E G I S L AT I V E AC T I O N ACEC WINS ON FLSA REFORM, QBS; TEA-21
REAUTHORIZATION UNCERTAIN One Down, One to Go; ACEC Defends FLSA These
reforms are essential for our industry, and will make a big Reforms in
Congress difference in terms of reduced liability and compliance costs,
said ACEC and its industry allies narrowly defeated an attempt in the
Malcolm Pirnie CEO Bill Dee. House to disallow reforms to the Fair Labor
Standards Act FLSA , ACEC Presses for Permanent but another threat looms
in the Senate. Price Anderson Extension In July, an ACEC-headed grassroots
campaign led the House of T h e Senate passed a comprehensive energy
Representatives to reject an amendment offered by Rep. George package that
would permanently extend the Miller D-Calif. that sought to prevent the
U.S. Department of Price Anderson Act, which provides liability Labor from
acting on ACEC-supported reforms to the FLSA. The protection for firms
engaged in environmental House rejected the Miller amendment 213-210.
cleanup at nuclear sites around the country. Sen. Tom Harkin D-Iowa plans
to offer a similar version of the The House-passed energy package H.R. 6
rejected amendment to the Senate's F.Y. 2004 Labor, HHS, and e x t e n d s
Price Anderson for 15 years but Education Appropriations bill. ACEC
together with the U.S. includes a limited financial accountability Patrick
McCann, CEO of Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent
subrogation provision that would expose firms Weston Solutions Businesses,
and other coalition allies is once again engaged in an to additional
liability. ACEC is working to ensure that the Senate i n t e n s e
lobbying effort to oppose the language on Price Anderson is adopted when
House and Senate con- H a r k i n Amendment and protect the ferees meet in
the fall to develop a final compromise bill. FLSA reform effort. Long-term
reauthorization of Price Anderson will give our mem- In a letter to Senate
members, ACEC ber firms that are involved in nuclear programs, including
clean-up noted that regulations governing over- activities, the essential
coverage they need, said Weston Solutions' time and minimum wage
eligibility under CEO and President, Patrick McCann. t h e FLSA have not
been significantly revised in over 50 years. The engineering Congress
Close to Clearing workplace has changed considerably dur- ACEC-Backed
AIR-21 Reauthorization Bill ing that time and the proposed regula- Bill
Dee, CEO of The House and Senate are ready to approve a $62 billion bill
to tions will remedy many of the problems Malcolm Pirnie reauthorize
Federal Aviation Administration programs. The four- e n g i n e e r i n g
firms face with regard to year measure, titled Vision 100 Century of
Aviation Reauthoriza- FLSA compliance. tion Act, increases Airport
Improvement Program AIP funding ISSUE ON THE MOVE WHAT'S NEXT for
infrastructure improvement from the current $3.4 billion to $3.7 billion
in the last year of the bill. Floor fight in the Senate in FLSA Reform
Miller Anti- The bill also contains several ACEC-backed provisions to
stream- September. Reform Amendment Defeated line the environmental review
process for airport expansion and run- way projects, including designating
the Department of Transporta- Full committee consideration ACEC Secures
$20 billion; tion as the lead agency and requiring federal and state
agencies to in September. QBS for Wastewater Projects concurrently conduct
reviews. We urge Congress to pass this critical legislation that will
address Senate Environment and $4 Billion in Corps Projects the capacity
crisis facing our country's largest airports, ACEC Presi- Public Works
Committee to dent David Raymond said. Raymond was among the first to
testify act in September. before Congress two years ago on the need for
concurrent rather than consecutive environmental reviews in order to
significantly Extension likely; new six-year TEA -21 Expires Sept. 30
shorten the time between agency go-ahead and project delivery. bill
delayed. House, Senate Wrapping Up 2004 Appropriations House, Senate
passage AIR-21 Conferee Report expected in September. Finalized The House
and Senate are working to wrap up work on F.Y. 2004 appropriation measures
totaling almost $785 billion in discre- 1 0 ENGINEERING INC. S e p t e m b
e r l October 2003
Engineering Inc. - September/October 2003

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - September/October 2003
