Engineering Inc. - November/December 2009 - 7

After extensive collaboration with ACEC and FHWA, AASHTO updated its audit guide to ensure compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), improve audit consistency and quality, promote the recognition of a single cognizant audit and improve government oversight and overall guidance. AASHTO approved the new audit guide in late October and educational opportunities are being made available for all stakeholders involved. ACEC is offering an online seminar series to educate members on the new audit guide. Members can register for online seminars or download past seminars from the web at www.acec.org/ education. State DOTs are currently beginning to implement the new guide, and FHWA regulatory action is expected by Spring 2010. The new guide can be found on AASHTO’s website at www.transportation.org. Gary LaNdSmaN Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) aCeC Continues to Press Senate for action on water Bill ACEC and its industry allies are continuing to pressure the Senate to vote on a $38.5 billion water and wastewater infrastructure bill. The bill (S. 1005) authorizes $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program and $14.7 billion for the Drinking Water SRF program over five years. Sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and cosponsored by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the measure sets aside $1.85 billion for grants to address combined sewer overflows, or CSOs. The bill also expands the eligible activities for SRF funding and extends loan repayment schedules to 30 years. Low-income communities, or portions of large municipalities with “pockets” of low-income households, are eligible for negative interest loans and principal forgiveness. Like similar legislation already passed in the House, the Senate bill requires that SRF-funded projects use QualificationsBased Selection in the procurement of engineering services, although communities with populations under 10,000 are not required to comply. ACEC is working to remove the exemption and secure final passage before the end of the year. aCeC targets anti-Contractor Provisions in House appropriations Bill ACEC and industry allies are working to remove anti-contractor language included in the House-passed F.Y. 2010 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. The spending bill includes language that would require all federal agencies, excluding the Department of Defense, to provide an annual inventory of all contracts for services, and to identify for in-sourcing those that either have “performed poorly” or are “closely associated with inherently governmental functions.” ACEC and other business organizations have expressed concerns to Congress that these overly broad and subjective criteria Senate Climate Change Bill introduced Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) have released a climate change bill that sets carbon emission reduction goals that are more ambitious than those in existing legislation that has already passed the House (H.R. 2454). The Senate seeks to achieve a 20 percent reduction by 2020, compared with the House’s target of 17 percent, and the administration’s goal of 14 percent, all from 2005 levels. Like the House bill, the Senate version uses a cap-and-trade mechanism and covers electric utilities, oil companies, large industrial sources and other entities that emit at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. Both bills call for an annual auction of emission allocations, although in the early transition years, most of the allowances would be given away “free” to certain industry sectors, states and a variety of programs. The bill also includes provisions regarding building codes and energy efficiency. Kerry and Boxer are also considering adding incentives to the bill to promote new construction in the nuclear sector as a means of garnering additional support, particularly among Senate Republicans. Hearings on the bill (S. 1733) took place in late October, with action by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee expected by Thanksgiving. Five other Senate committees also have jurisdiction, with floor action on the bill unlikely until late in the year, pushing any possibility of a finished product with the House into 2010. will require federal officials to curtail the use of the private sector and impair their ability to deliver critical services to the public. The proposed policy also conflicts with the 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, which recognized the significant public benefits of applying the innovation, expertise and cost efficiencies of private industry to government requirements. The House-passed bill is now before the Senate for consideration. ACEC will continue to seek removal of anti-contractor provisions from the final version of the bill. for more newS For weekly legislative news, visit acec’s Last word online at www.acec.org. NovEmbER / DECEmbER 2009 ENGINEERING INC. Bizuayehu teSFaye/aP Photo

http://www.acec.org/education http://www.acec.org/education http://www.transportation.org http://www.acec.org

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2009

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