President Obama’s FY 2017 budget request for the US Department of Transportation supports FAST Act funding levels of $43.27 billion for the federal-aid highway and $9.535 transit programs. The proposal also revives an idea the Administration has suggested several times previously to replace the existing Highway Trust Fund with a new Transportation Trust Fund.

Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), John Duncan (R-Tenn.), and Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) introduced the Water Investment Trust Fund Act. This legislation will provide a small, deficit-neutral, protected source of revenue to help states replace, repair, and rehabilitate critical clean and drinking water facilities by creating a voluntary system that would allow businesses that rely on a clean water source to contribute to the fund.

Includes Duplicative Debarment for Late Taxes and Crimes AGC filed comments this week on a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council proposed rule that would prohibit federal agencies from entering into a contract with any corporation that has a delinquent federal tax liability or a felony conviction under any federal law, unless (1) the agency has considered suspension and debarment of the corporation and (2) has made a determination that such action is unnecessary.

AGC submitted comments to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on its fourth solicitation for the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative. AGC supported the Administration’s proposal to include construction partnering in the initiative, demonstrating past success through partnering and emphasizing the need for renewed focus as partnering with certain state DOTs has become too routine and has lost its effectiveness.

Yesterday, Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act of 2016. The bill would authorize programs run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through fiscal year 2022. The FAA has been operating under a number of short-term extensions with the current one expiring on March 31. The bill includes provisions closely tracked by AGC including airport infrastructure funding and financing, and the regulation of the commercial use of drones.

AGC’s 97th Annual Convention will be held March 9-11, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. Please visit meetings.agc.org/convention for registration information. Below is a preview of the Utility Infrastructure, Federal & Heavy Construction, and Highway & Transportation Division meetings.

Save $75 on Registration Fee; Held May 9-11 in DC Register on or before February 12 for the 2016 AGC Federal Contractors Conference (FEDCON) and save $75 off the registration fee. FEDCON—held May 10-11 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.—is the premier conference for federal construction contractors to discuss the latest projects, policies and contracting issues facing the industry with federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facility Engineering Command, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, General Services Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of State, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Bureau of Reclamation.

Rules Impact Direct-Federal Contractors Snow can close the federal government, but it does not stop the federal regulatory machine. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued final and proposed rules, respectively, that impact direct-federal construction contractors.

In its first analysis of the Highway Trust Fund, following passage of the long-term highway & transit bill known as the FAST Act, the Congressional Budget Office reports that in fiscal year 2021 (the last year of the act’s authorization) the trust fund balance will be zero and that the government will need $113 billion in additional revenue to maintain funding for the ensuing six years. This analysis vividly demonstrates the challenges facing federal surface transportation programs in the future.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Clean Watersheds Needs Survey, a collaboration between EPA, states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories to compile the monetary needs of treatment, transportation, and management of the nation’s wastewater and stormwater. The survey identifies $271 billion over the next five years needed to maintain and improve this critical segment of infrastructure and is likely to be a conservative estimate.