ACEC members from all over the country descended on the Nation’s Capitol this week to lobby members of the House and Senate to increase federal funding for transportation infrastructure and other key priorities. ACEC’s "citizen lobbyists" visited nearly 300 Hill offices

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) (center) meets with members of the ACEC of Georgia delegation, including (l to r) Al Pond, Don Allen, Ed Ellis, Bruce Moulds, and Executive Director Tom Leslie, at a CCD fundraiser.

during their stay. They learned from several congressional supporters that the House Budget Committee is expected to restore at least $4.4 billion in federal highway funding for 2003 – a major victory for ACEC’s outreach efforts. (See related story, below.)

CCD focused on four key priorities: transportation funding, the passage of multi-billion-dollar water infrastructure legislation in 2002, building support for ACEC’s legislation to reform the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and fighting legislative efforts to curtail outsourcing. In addition to the apparent success on the highway budget, ACEC members received solid commitments of support for water infrastructure legislation and secured cosponsors for HR 3678, ACEC’s legislation to protect member firms from unfair enforcement actions under the FLSA.

"Our members are the heart and soul of ACEC’s advocacy efforts," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "The success of CCD 2002 shows how citizen lobbyists can be an effective force in driving ACEC’s legislative priorities forward."

"This year’s CCD event was extremely well organized and effective," said Ken Koch, vice president of Turner Collie & Braden. "We were really here at the right time with the right message."

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) reiterated his commitment to restore federal transportation funding, and thanked ACEC members for leading the charge on important bipartisan legislation. Because of the Council’s hard work, 308 cosponsors have signed on to cosponsor H.R. 3694 and 67 senators have been secured as cosponsors for S. 1917.

Chairman Don Young addresses CCD attendees on important transportation and infrastructure issues.

Speaking at an ACEC/PAC reception held in his honor Monday evening, and again during the CCD luncheon the following day, Young said he is committed to "moving products and people across this great nation… If we don’t improve transportation infrastructure we won’t be able to compete worldwide."

CCD attendees also learned of a nearly completed agreement between Young’s committee and the House Budget Committee that would restore $4.4 billion to the core federal highway program for F.Y. 2003. Under the agreement, the Federal-Aid Highway Program will receive at least $27.7 billion in F.Y. 2003, equal to the amount guaranteed in TEA-21, instead of the $23.2 billion asked for in the president’s budget request.

Young said his committee will hold several hearings this year on the reauthorization of TEA-21 and that committee staff will release draft legislation in early 2003. He asked for ACEC’s help to ensure passage of "a fine piece of legislation…to stimulate the economy [we must] put the money into infrastructure."

Young was joined at the CCD luncheon by nationally recognized political analyst Charlie Cook, who told the crowd, "This truly is an historic election year. [There is] absolute partisan equilibrium out there." He predicted that the Republicans will hold onto the House, that the Senate is "going to be a photo finish," and that the Democrats will probably pick up a few governorships.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) expressed his support for ACEC’s key priorities during a half hour meeting Thursday with ACEC Chairman Steve Goddard and ACEC President Dave Raymond. Speaker Hastert confirmed that the House Budget Committee would restore transportation spending to TEA-21 authorized levels, and expressed strong support for a number of other issues of interest to ACEC members, including reforming the Fair Labor Standards Act, outsourcing, and water infrastructure.

More than 700 ACEC members and their guests were on hand Tuesday evening when Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman thanked ACEC for its support: "We in this administration…appreciate the work that you do. You really do improve America’s quality of life."

Whitman, who told the crowd her father was an engineer, also thanked ACEC’s members for "stepping in on one of the worst days in our country’s history" (Sept. 11) and asked for the Council’s help in meeting EPA’s major challenges: Ensuring that the air is cleaner, the water is purer and the land is better protected.