On May 19, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson was invited with a handful of other members of the National Association for Business Economics to brief Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Governor Dan Tarullo on the state of the economy. Ken told the governors that respondents to his 12,000-reader Data DIGest have begun to report receiving some stimulus contracts and have seen an improvement in the state and local bond market, but no loosening of credit for developer-financed construction projects. Ken also referred to the change in materials costs in the year since he had given Chairman Bernanke a copy of the Construction Inflation Alert at the last Fed briefing he attended.Ken spoke later in the week to Austan Goolsbee, a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, offering to supply information on stimulus contracts and hiring. Ken also met with chief statistician of the U.S. and the directors of business statistics at the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, providing each with suggestions of data that would be useful for the construction industry and for public agencies concerned about construction costs or jobs.These are among the many recent examples of AGC's interactions with senior officials in all sectors of the federal government.

The leaders of the building construction industry participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference held June 10-13 in Hot Springs, Va.  This Conference brought together many of the top building construction firms, specialty contractors, service and supply companies and owners to focus on the theme "Guiding Your Firm Through Challenging Economic Times" through informative presentations, interactive panels and dynamic discussions.  Attendees also had several opportunities to network with their colleagues at evening receptions, luncheons and the golf tournament.  Don't forget to save the dates for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference on January 20-23, 2010 at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico.For more information, contact Cassia Griffin at (703) 837-5408 or griffinc@agc.org.

AGC has posted new fact sheets about construction in every state at www.agc.org/factsheets, including the estimates of the impact of $1 billion of construction spending on a state's economy and the percentage change in construction employment from May 2008 to May 2009.  Also, AGC has compiled fact sheets with metro-level construction data that complement a June 4th AGC press release that contained a complete set of construction employment statistics for the nation's metropolitan areas. To view the press release and report click here.For more information or to make any suggestions on the effectiveness of the fact sheets contact Ken Simonson at simonsonk@agc.org.

On May 27, AGC pulled a broad cross-section of the many associations that represent the real estate, design and construction industries together for a meeting at the National Building Museum on the regulatory and legislative efforts to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change.During the meeting, both AGC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce updated everyone on the regulatory efforts underway at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act - and how badly such an approach could damage all of the represented industries.AGC also briefed the group on the proposed "cap and trade" legislation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently approved a bill that aims to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.  A staff member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee also addressed the group on the possible reaction to the House bill and any potential new legislation.  The Senate has yet to propose climate change legislation.AGC will now work to identify areas of consensus among the real estate, design and construction industries on both the threats and the opportunities that may be embedded in the larger effort to address GHG emissions.For more information contact Melinda Tomaino at (703) 837-5415 or tomainom@agc.org.

AGC's July Safety Meeting is coming to D.C. July 22, 2009 thru July 24, 2009. Get the latest updates on congressional activity that directly effects construction safety and health. Join more than 150 industry professionals to discuss the latest safety and health concerns facing the construction industry. Network with seasoned safety experts and participate in the development of regulatory and legislative activity on both a national and local level, assist in the development and creation of new safety training programs and products and hear the latest initiatives from OSHA and other industry experts. For more information or to register, go to www.agc.org/safetymeeting.

June 25, 1:30-3:00 pm ETGain insight into the green incentives and sustainability provisions contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  Understand the details of these provisions as well as the potential impact on construction project financing and lending standards. Information will be provided on the current credit and lending issues as well as the impact on financing contained in portions of the ARRA, specifically green incentives.  Andy Lutz, a Managing Consultant in the Denver, Co. office of Navigant Consulting, will explore ARRA and its impact on the construction market on June 25 from 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM (ET).  Register today!For more information, please contact Carrie Harper at harperc@agc.org.

June 24, 1:00 - 2:30 pm ETBuilding Information Modeling (BIM) is a powerful tool that is transforming the design and construction industry. Owners, architects and contractors are tapping into BIM as a competitive advantage to increase project efficiency and improve overall results. The biggest obstacle for many, however, is navigating the legal issues involved with BIM.Hear firsthand from an owner, architect and contractor on how they have dealt with the legal ramifications of moving into a 3-D world of design and construction and how the ConsensusDOCS 301 BIM Addendum addresses these risk allocation and administration issues as the first standard BIM contract document.Learn more at www.agc.org/BIMweb.

The leaders of the building construction industry participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference held June 10-13 in Hot Springs, Va.  This Conference brought together many of the top building construction firms, specialty contractors, service and supply companies and owners to focus on the theme "Guiding Your Firm Through Challenging Economic Times" through informative presentations, interactive panels and dynamic discussions.  Attendees also had several opportunities to network with their colleagues at evening receptions, luncheons and the golf tournament.Don't forget to save the dates for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference on January 20-23, 2010 at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Pr.

The AGC BIMForum met in Dallas May 28-29 and again proved to be the greatest venue for industry collaboration. The theme of the meeting was "BIM, Now More Than Ever: From the 30 Day to 30 Year Perspective."The presentations and discussions addressed ways to achieve immediate return on investment with BIM, how models can be created to foster greater collaboration and what owners increasingly want to see. Held in conjunction with two sessions of AGC's new BIM 101 courses, the conference had more 300 architects, contractors, engineers and software providers in attendance over three full days. The next BIMForum meeting will be held in Philadelphia, Pa., October 8-9, 2009.For more information, contact Dmitri Alferieff at (703) 837-5386 or alferieffd@agc.org.

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 915, a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding and safety oversight programs for four years with a total authorized spending level of $70 billion.  The bill includes a total of $16.2 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects.  The bill also increases the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) on airline flights from $4.50 to $7.00, which is estimated to generate $1 billion per year in additional revenue.  These fees may be levied by airports to fund airport infrastructure investment. The most recent multi-year authorization of the FAA expired on September 30, 2007.  The programs have been operating under a series of short-term extensions since that time.  The Senate has not yet acted on reauthorization legislation this year.