Register Today for Annual Legislative Briefing, Fly-In

The Transportation Construction Coalition's "Transportation at the Cross Roads" legislative briefing and fly-in is drawing closer. The event this year will be held May 20-21 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

The event will begin with a legislative briefing on May 20 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by a Capitol Hill reception, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. The second day will begin with a breakfast program from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. Immediately afterward, participants are urged to visit with their Representatives and Senators to discuss key issues.

The North American Concrete Alliance partners, including the American Concrete Pavement Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and Portland Cement Association are encouraging members and affiliates to participate in the briefing, as well as to call on elected Federal officials to urge both increased funding, as well as durable solutions to some of the greatest challenges to transportation construction.

Members and affiliates can register directly online at http://www.BlueSkyz.com/tcc2008.

Contact Kerri Leininger.

Aviation Bill Stalls in the Senate

The U.S. Senate made little progress this week on approving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881). 

At the outset, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) scheduled a procedural vote on Tuesday to limit debate on the bill. 

Republican senators have voiced objections to a package of non-aviation-related tax provisions in the current version of the bill, including a general fund bailout of the Highway Trust Fund aimed at fixing a projected $4 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2009.  The provision is paid for by doubling the per-barrel tax on oil dedicated to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund; a change in the tax treatment of some state and local government retirement plans; and changes in the tax treatment of some corporate inversions and expatriate income. 

Some Republican Senators also are raising objections to the inclusion of a non-aviation tax provision to include a $1.7 billion tax credit for a future New York City transportation infrastructure project to be named later by the city.

If the Senate is unable to reach agreement on the FAA bill, “we are not going to be able to do it this year, more than likely,” Majority Leader Reid said yesterday:

Contact David Hubbard or Gary Mitchell.

The House Judiciary Committee this week approved H.R. 1650, the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act, on a bipartisan voice vote.

Two amendments were added to the final bill that would provide an exemption for rail car pooling and require reporting obligations for the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

Currently, the railroads have broad antitrust exemptions that prevent rail customers and state Attorneys General from pursuing legal action against alleged monopolistic behavior.  Unlike most industries, railroad mergers and acquisitions are not subject to Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission review. 

The STB approves mergers and acquisitions on a simple “public interest” test, which has contributed to a highly consolidated rail industry operating in many non-competitive markets.  This sometimes translates to higher rates and lower than desirable service.

The legislation next moves the House floor for consideration.  The Senate Judiciary Committee approved similar legislation earlier this year.

Contact David Hubbard.

Federal Court Orders Interior Department to List Polar Bear Listing

A Federal court in San Francisco on Monday ordered the Department of the Interior to finalize its proposed decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).   The specific case is Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an injunction requiring the already overdue final listing determination to be published in the Federal Register by May 15.

The order grew out of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups after the Federal government missed a one-year statutory deadline for making a final decision on a proposal to add the polar bear to the ESA list, largely because of the threat that global warming poses to its sea ice habitat.

The court also ordered that the final listing decision take effect immediately, forgoing the 30-day waiting period the Administrative Procedure Act requires but that can be abrogated for good cause.

Contact Deidra Ciriello.

Report Calls for More Infrastructure Funding

The Urban Land Institute on Tuesday released a report titled, “Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage” which highlights the need to increase and overhaul transportation infrastructure funding in the United States.

The report calculates that there is an annual $170 billion shortfall in infrastructure spending.   This is based on the fact that since 1980, vehicle miles traveled on the nation’s roads has increased by 95 percent, but highway and roadway capacity has only increased by three percent.

The shortfall comes from an overall lack of funding for the nation’s infrastructure. According to the report, the United States annually, only spends 2.4 percent of its gross domestic product on infrastructure, which also cuts into America’s international competitiveness when compared with China’s nine percent.

The report suggests putting more emphasis on public/private partnerships, tolling; and increasing the Federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel to fix our nation’s aging transportation systems.

Contact Robert Sullivan.

Data Shows Decline In Construction Spending

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday released figures showing that construction spending fell by 1.1 percent from February to March. The decline is 0.4% more than economists had predicted.

A 4.6 percent decrease in residential construction was cited as the largest decline since 1993, when comparable records were first kept.

Non-residential construction rose by 1.3 percent from February, which is a 12 percent gain from March 2007.

Contact Robert Sullivan.

National Television Ad Addresses Card-Check Legislation

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a nonprofit group established to fight H.R. 800, the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act (also known as the Card-Check bill), recently unveiled a new television commercial dramatizing the negative effects of a Card-Check system.

The Employee Free Choice Act aims to strip workers’ of their democratic right to a private ballot election when deciding whether or not to join a union. Under the legislation, the private ballot election would be replaced with an inferior card-check process, in which employees would simply have to sign a card. This undermines worker privacy rights by allowing an employee’s signature to be made public to their co-workers, employer, and union organizers, according to opponents of the legislation.

The ad, which began airing on April 25, uses humor and a well known face to depict how Card-Check subjects workers to intimidation and harassment. Click here to view the TV ad.

Contact Robert Sullivan.

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