Contractors nationwide are becoming increasingly concerned about possible layoffs next year if Congress does not act on a six-year surface transportation bill, which AGC predicts would reduce federal highway and transit funding by more than $15 billion, or 20 percent.

The AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition today launched a new ad campaign and issued a press release to coincide with the White House Jobs Summit, calling on Congress and the Obama Administration to create jobs now by passing a highway and transit bill.

In our ongoing effort to keep the pressure on Congress to enact a six year transportation reauthorization bill with significantly increased funding levels, the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) has scheduled December 10, 2009 as "Phone-In to Congress" Day. While Congress is embroiled in other high profile issues Senators and Representatives must be reminded about the need to address the expired highway and transit program authorization. In our visits on Capitol Hill Senators and Representatives report they are not hearing from people at home. They need to hear from you.TCC would like to bombard Congressional offices with calls from constituents. To do this the following toll free number has been set up to allow you to call directly to the offices of your Senators and Representative: 1-888-448-2782. While email and letters are helpful, phone calls require an individual to answer and to make note of why you are calling.Please plan to call on December 10 and ask your employees to call as well and make the following points: (Our state) has huge transportation needs that are not being met including deficient bridges, deteriorating pavements, congested roads and safety hazards.In addition, the construction industry has an unemployment rate of over 18 percent.Without the certainty of a long term authorization bill, with increased funding levels, construction companies and material suppliers in our state will be forced to lay off additional workers.Businesses will not invest in new equipment when there is so much uncertainty about the on- going and future construction market.Congress must do its job and delay no longer. Pass a six year transportation authorization bill now and provide the revenue necessary to increase funding to address (our state's) short term need for jobs and long term economic growth.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) held separate news conferences today to call for the inclusion of increased highway and transit funding as part of jobs legislation currently being discussed in both the House and Senate. The news conferences also included the release of an AASHTO survey of state DOTs that identified 7,497 highway projects valued at $47 billion and 2,091 transit, port, rail and other transportation projects valued at $22 billion that are "ready to go" and could be approved for award within 120 days. The American Public Transportation Association also indicated that its members identified additional projects above the AASHTO transit numbers. Senator Boxer said she is co-chairing a Senate leadership group that is putting together jobs legislation and will push for inclusion of funding at this level. Both Chairman Boxer and Chairman Oberstar quoted AGC's statistics on the dire employment situation in the construction industry with now stands at 18.7 percent with 1.6 million construction jobs lost since January 2008. President Obama will hold a "Jobs Summit" at the White House tomorrow. Former AGC President Doug Pitcock will represent the association and present information about the state of the construction economy and call for infrastructure investment as the best way to quickly create new jobs. Both Chairs also indicated that this jobs funding is being discussed separately from addressing the need to pass legislation to reauthorize surface transportation programs and provide new Highway Trust Fund revenue to support long term increased funding levels.

A bipartisan group of seven Senate Committee Chairs and Ranking Members sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging leadership to file cloture to move forward on a 6-month extension of the surface transportation bill to spur job creation and an economic recovery.  A cloture motion is necessary because several Republican senators object to the bill because of  budgetary concerns and will not allow an extension to be considered by the Senate without a cloture vote.   The Senate and the House have been at a standoff concerning how to proceed with reauthorization of the highway and transit programs. Until recently, Senate transportation leaders were supporting an 18-month delay, while the House passed a three month extension with the intent of keeping pressure on for enactment of a six year measure. The Senate leaders now support a six month extension to ensure that the program does not flounder while discussions proceed on a longer term bill. The programs have been operating under the terms of two short term extensions that were included in Continuing Resolutions the second one expires on December 18. The bipartisan letter pointed out that short term extensions mean less money is available for states, and do not provide states the certainty they need to keep crucial transportation projects moving forward.The letter was signed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Ranking Member, Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), Ranking Member, and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Committee on Finance.

The AGC Co-Chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) continues efforts to urge Congress to work towards enactment of a multi-year transportation bill with significantly increased funding to address the nation's long term and immediate economic problems. The TCC last week released a national survey of transportation contractors that reinforced the many challenges facing the U.S. transportation construction industry and the need for increased federal investment.  TCC organizations are now working on getting state business groups to sign onto a letter that will go to each state's Congressional delegation urging enactment of a well funded long term bill. In addition, a phone-in day is being organized to continue to keep the pressure on the Congress.    

The Transportation Construction Coalition, of which AGC is co-chair, sponsored a transportation event on Capitol Hill.  The event focused on the nation's infrastructure needs, the current reauthorization debate and how to finance the system of the future, and included a conversation about some of the environmental issues surrounding the transportation program.

While the $27 billion dedicated to highway construction in the $775 billion stimulus package likely saved thousands of construction-related jobs, it was not enough to prevent widespread lay-offs among road and transit construction businesses according to a survey released by the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition.

A new video advertisement from the Transportation Construction Coalition, co-chaired by AGC, highlights the findings of a new study that shows 22,000 Americans die each year on deficient roadways.Watch the video here.For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC and the Florida East Coast Chapter announced Friday that a $20.5 million stimulus-funded project to widen I-95 in Palm Bay, Fla., is helping member company Ranger Construction expand its payroll and retain dozens of employees facing layoffs.