Engineering Inc. - September/October 2009 - 7

senate Committee Clears faa reauthorization Bill The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved legislation in July to reauthorize FAA operations and funding for an additional two years. The Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S. 1451) substantially increases funding for airport construction and expansion, providing $4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) per year, an increase of $500 million annually above current levels. ACEC is seeking to add two key provisions from companion legislation that already has cleared the House—to increase the allowable cap on Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) collected for airport facility improvements, and to require the use of QBS on local airport projects funded through PFCs. Current law requires QBS only on projects funded through the AIP program. A vote in the Senate is expected later this year. Blumenauer introduces new water trust fund Bill in the House Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation (H.R. 3202) that would create a new trust fund, supported by dedicated revenue streams, to support an expanded federal water infrastructure effort. ACEC is working closely with the American Public Works Association and a coalition of public agencies, contractors and other stakeholders to build support for Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) the trust fund concept. pushes ahead for water trust fund The Water Protection and Reinvestment Act would raise approximately $10 billion annually through new levies on certain soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and other consumer products, as well as a 0.15 percent corporate tax on profits over $4 million. The new funds would flow to the states through the existing Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act State Revolving Fund programs. A significant portion of the funding for wastewater projects would be set aside for negative-interest loans and principalforgiveness loans. In addition, six new grant programs would be created to fund water and wastewater system security, climate change mitigation and adaptation assistance, workforce development, sewer overflows, research development and technology demonstration programs, and a drug take-back program. A subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on the legislation in July, but it is uncertain that the bill will see further consideration this year. Health Care reform Put off to the fall Separate efforts in the House and Senate to move major health care reform initiatives fell short before Congress adjourned in August, pushing the debate into the fall. House and Senate leaders are attempting to balance competing approaches of liberal Democrats, who seek a greater federal role in health care, and moderates, who are concerned about the high costs and competition between a proposed government health insurance plan and privatesector insurers. ACEC President Dave Raymond wrote to congressional leaders before the August recess to lay out a number of industry issues, and emphasized that Congress should take steps to make it easier for businesses to access affordable health insurance products through trade associations or other cooperatives to take advantage of collective purchasing power. Much of the attention in the Senate is focused on bipartisan negotiations among a group of Finance Committee members, including Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). While those negotiations appear to be heading toward a package that rejects the idea of a government-sponsored plan in favor of state-level cooperatives, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) must balance the proposal that emerges with the wishes of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass). Kennedy’s panel continues to seek a governmentsponsored plan as part of the package. In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) negotiated with a group of moderate “Blue Dog” Democrats on changes to the package, including an increase in the exemption level for small businesses from the employer mandate and delinking provider payment rates within the new government-sponsored plan from Medicare rates. House leadership must find a way to balance the concerns of the Blue Dogs with those of the party’s more liberal wing. With the House and Senate having missed the August deadline for completing work on health care reform, the White House continues to push to complete work before the end of the year. for more news UPI Photo/KEvIN DIEtsCh For weekly legislative news, visit ACEC’s Last Word online at www.acec.org. SEptEmbER / OCtObER 2009 ENGINEERING INC. 7 KAREN BLEIER/AFP/GEtty ImAGEs Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seeks bipartisan compromise

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2009

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