A new AP-GfK poll finds that six in 10 Americans think the economic benefits of good highways, railroads and airports outweigh the cost to taxpayers. Yet the poll shows there is no consensus on how to pay for needed improvements and upkeep. Among those who drive multiple times per week, 62 percent say the benefits outweigh the costs. Among those who drive less than once a week or not at all, 55 percent say the costs of road improvement are worthwhile. Despite this support, however, the public is divided over how to address the Highway Trust Fund shortfall.

New government data today show the uneven nature of the construction industry's recovery, as the sector added 22,000 jobs in July, but suffered a pullback in spending in June, according to an analysis by AGC of America.

After weeks of back and forth between the House and Senate, a short-term extension of the current transportation authorization with a temporary funding patch for the Highway Trust Fund was passed before Congress left town for their August recess. The bill is headed to the president’s desk for his signature.

Resolution Must Come Before the August Recess On Wednesday, Senate leaders reached agreement on how to proceed with consideration of the short-term highway and transit extension bill, which passed the House last week.  The agreement reached by Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would allow for the consideration of four amendments each requiring 60 votes to pass.  If the amendments do not receive the required 60 votes, the Senate would then vote on clearing the House-passed measure as-is, which would provide an $11 billion transfer to the Highway Trust Fund and an extension of the current transportation authorization (MAP-21) – through May 31, 2015.

Today, President Obama announced a new executive action to create the Build America Investment Initiative, a government-wide initiative to increase infrastructure investment and economic growth. As part of the initiative, the administration is launching the Build America Transportation Investment Center – housed at the Department of Transportation – to serve cities and states seeking to use innovative financing and partnerships with the private sector to support transportation infrastructure. 

Yesterday, the House, by a vote of 367 to 55, approved H.R. 5021, a $10.8 billion Highway Trust Fund patch which provides sufficient revenue to maintain current funding levels through May 2015. The bill also extends MAP-21 authorization for the highway and transit programs for those eight months. The bill received strong bipartisan support from 181 Republicans and 186 Democrats, while 45 Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against. Revenue needed to support the patch came from a general fund transfer which was off- set by a variety of tax code adjustments including extending customs fees on importers, taking money from the leaking underground storage tank fund (LUST) and changing rules on private pension contributions. AGC and our coalition partners in the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) urged the House to support H.R. 5021.

meetings.agc.org/highwayutilities Get up to date information on a variety of Issues that will impact the highway, transportation and utility construction markets over the next year. The 2014 AGC Highway and Utilities Contractors Conference will be held Nov. 13-15, 2014, at the Omni LaCosta in San Diego, Calif.  Industry professionals from companies involved in building highway, bridge, utility and underground construction, transit, airport runway and rail projects will benefit from this conference.  Presentation and discussions on major trends in highway and utility construction will be featured, including:

Both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee moved legislation today to provide sufficient revenue to the Highway Trust Fund in order to keep highway and transit programs operational until May 31, 2015. The House bill included language extending MAP-21 authorization, at current levels, to May 31, while the Senate bill did not. However, the Senate provided sufficient revenue to carry the program until June 1 and is expected to add extension language at some point.

The chief executive officer of AGC of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in response to a report on the condition of the nation's rural roads released by national transportation research group TRIP today.

House Ways & Means Committee to Release Plans in Early July Today, the Senate Finance Committee had planned to hold a markup of Chairman Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) $9 billion Highway Trust Fund patch.  However, at the request of ranking Republican member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chairman Wyden suspended the markup to allow Republicans more time to develop alternatives to his proposal.  Republicans remained focused on finding spending cuts to offset the patch and would like more time to negotiate with Democrats to forge a bipartisan compromise.  The second part of the markup  may happen the week of July 7.