Senate Delays Vote on Six Month Funding Bill

This afternoon, the Senate voted 67-31 to proceed on a six-month, FY 2013 continuing resolution (CR), funding the government through March 27, 2013 at about FY 2012 levels. However, because the Senate was not able to reach unanimous consent on the motion, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a cloture motion, which requires 30 hours of debate before a vote on passage of the CR can be brought to the Senate floor. Unless an agreement can be reached, the vote to pass the CR will take place at approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  The House passed the CR on Sept. 13. The impact of passing a continuing resolution rather than individual appropriations bills has serious consequences for construction projects let directly from the federal government. Specifically, under the CR, federal agencies are generally prohibited from beginning work on new and necessary projects for the next six months.  In addition, the CR underfunds the highway and transit investment levels in the recently enacted transportation authorization bill, MAP-21.  As a result, construction contractors will likely see fewer opportunities for work, and, in turn, less reason to hire more employees. When Congress faced a similar situation in 2011, it cut $40 billion in the FY 2011 appropriations CR the following spring. Although some welcomed the cuts, federal construction investment accounts absorbed more than half of them—about $21 billion. The U.S. interstate system was built in 1956, most locks and dams have exceeded their 50 year life span, and the average age of failing water mains is 47 years old, representing 22 percent of all water mains.  AGC will continue to strongly urge Congress to enact adequate levels of construction investment to ensure that America’s aging infrastructure and facilities receive required maintenance and expand to meet growing economic and population demands. For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at 202-547-8892 or oneills@agc.org or Jimmy Christianson at 703-837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.