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Volume XXIII,
Number 24
July 12, 2002
1015 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7474
Fax
202-898-0068
www.acec.org
E-mail acec@acec.org
Ellen
Mullally, Editor
Francis George, Production Manager
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Business
What Has ACEC Done For You Lately?
Here are just a few of ACEC's recent accomplishments advocating pro-business solutions with lawmakers, policy-makers and the public:- Leading the business community's successful fight against legislation that would limit federal outsourcing of engineering services and set a dangerous precedent for state and local jurisdictions.
- Halting efforts by several states to impose a sales tax on professional services.
- Leading successful fight in Congress to protect federal transportation spending in the F.Y. 2003 budget.
- Helping improve engineering business practices around the world by taking leadership roles in international engineering federations such as FEPAC (Latin America), EFCA (Europe) and FIDIC worldwide.
Business And Beaches At ACEC's Fall Conference
Rejuvenate your business at ACEC's Fall Conference Oct. 23-26 at the beautiful Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort in Puerto Rico. Gain valuable insights into Surviving the Employee Challenge, Bolstering America's Infrastructure, IT Threats and Opportunities, and Engineering Services in the Post 9/11 Economy.ACEC attendees are being offered the following discounted room rates: Mountain View - $175 single/double; Ocean View - $200 single/double; and Ocean Front - $215 single/double. Contact the Westin for reservations at 1-800-4-RIO-MAR (474-6627) and reference "ACEC" to receive the discounted rates; the cut-off date for the ACEC room block is Oct. 1.
Program details are available now at www.acec.org. Watch for the preview brochure coming soon to your mailbox. See you in Puerto Rico!
Early Bird Registration For International Conference Ends July 15
Engineers from more than 50 countries will convene in Acapulco, Mexico, Sept. 29-Oct. 2 for the annual conference of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). The Early Bird registration deadline is July 15. To register or for additional information, go to www.fidic.org or contact ACEC's Michele Moore (202-347-7474 or mmoore@acec.org).
EEA 2003 Call For Entries Now Available
The Call for Entries brochures for the 2003 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition were mailed with the July/August issue of Engineering Inc. The deadline for submitting materials is Jan. 10, 2003, and the EEA Gala Evening is scheduled for March 18, 2003, in Washington, D.C. For additional copies of the Call for Entries brochure or for more information on the EEA competition, contact Daisy Nappier (202-347-7474, dnappier@acec.org).
Need Help Recruiting? Look No Further!
Is your firm looking for qualified candidates to fill a job? AECWorkforce.com, an Internet recruitment service exclusive to the design and construction industry, can help. ACEC members receive 10 percent off the membership fee. Go to AECWorkforce.com before Aug. 1 to find out how you can be automatically entered in a drawing to receive a FREE Kenneth Cole briefcase.
House Passes ACEC's High-Priority Airport Streamlining Bill; Next Step — SenateThe House passed legislation on Tuesday to streamline the lengthy environmental review process for getting airport projects off the ground. The Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002 (H.R. 4481)—which ACEC promoted over the past year-greatly improves the environmental review process and facilitates needed airport improvement projects.ACEC President Dave Raymond testified before the House Aviation Subcommittee last year, calling "insufficient coordination among multiple government agencies" the major underlying problem leading to construction delays. "We need to expedite airport improvements to alleviate congestion, and to save taxpayer money," he said. Raymond commended the House for addressing ACEC's concerns in H.R. 4481's passage: "The strong bi-partisan support for this legislation underscores the widespread recognition in Congress that needed airport upgrades are being unnecessarily delayed at the environmental review stage. The action by the House takes a long overdue step toward correcting this problem."
ACTION NEEDED ON SENATE SIDEThe focus now shifts to the Senate, where a similar bill (S. 633) has been passed by the Senate Commerce Committee and awaits floor action. Click HERE for a sample letter to urge senators to support this important legislation.Another Looming Fight To Preserve OutsourcingClose on the heels of ACEC's recent win over the Kennedy anti-outsourcing amendment, the public employee unions are mounting yet another attempt, this time focusing their efforts on pending appropriations legislation.During committee consideration of the F.Y. 2003 Treasury, Postal, and General Government Appropriations bill, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) introduced an amendment to halt the Bush administration's plan to open government services to competition from the private sector. ACEC worked with subcommittee Chairman Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) to defeat the amendment by a vote of 26-30, but another attempt to pass it will be made next Wednesday on the House floor. In the Senate, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) offered an identical amendment to the Senate version of the Treasury/Postal bill, which was adopted on a party line vote of 4-3 during Appropriations Subcommittee consideration. Given the political makeup of the full Appropriations Committee, it is expected that the Dorgan language will survive attempts to remove it from the bill. ACEC is lobbying House and Senate members, as well as coordinating with OMB Director Mitch Daniels and the Bush administration, to ensure that the final version of this legislation is free of language that hampers the ability of federal agencies to contract out with the private sector. "ACEC's grassroots efforts were the key to victory over the Kennedy amend-ment," said ACEC Chairman Dan DeYoung. "It is important for ACEC members once again to weigh in with their representatives and urge them to oppose efforts to prevent the federal government from outsourcing to the private sector." Click HERE to send a letter to your senator and HERE to send a letter to your representative on this issue. Call Camille Fleenor at 202-682-4343 for additional information. ACEC Issues Call To Action On Baucus Proposal To Increase Highway FundingACEC is actively soliciting co-sponsors for the Maximum Economic Growth for America through the Highway Trust Fund (MEGA TRUST) Act (S. 2678). The bill, introduced late last month by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would boost highway spending by more than $2.5 billion per year by capturing the interest in the Trust Fund and correcting the revenue lost due to the ethenol subsidy.Passage of this bill is an important first step in boosting transportation funding. Click HERE for a sample letter to help secure additional co-sponsors for the MEGA TRUST Act, or contact T.J. Schulz (202-347-7474 or tschulz@acec.org) for more information. There are currently 12 co-sponsors for the bill: Sens. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Michael Crapo (R-Idaho), Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Bob Graham (D-Fla.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) and John Warner (R-Va.). Nuclear Waste Site Nears RealityThe Senate approved ACEC-supported legislation this week to authorize the construction of a permanent storage site for the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.The resolution, which has already passed the House, is the culmination of an effort begun more than 20 years ago to designate a national nuclear waste repository. Yucca Mountain will use a combination of geological barriers and hardened steel-alloy storage casks, which the administration says could safely bury the radioactive waste for at least 10,000 years. Congress is expected to complete action on this legislation before adjournment this year. The Department of Energy still must obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate the repository, a process that could take four to five years, and overcome a series of lawsuits brought by the state of Nevada. NAVFAC, USACE, GSA Officials Featured At Upcoming Market Forecast Series EventsMore than 70 participants were briefed yesterday during an ACEC Market Forecast Series event by Kate Lang, director of the Office of Airport Planning and Programming at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), on new projects and security requirements at the agency. It's not too early to mark your calendars for the next three Market Forecast Series events, featuring a top official from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) on Sept. 12; Dwight Beranek, chief of the Engineering and Construction Division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Directorate of Military Programs on Oct. 10; and David Eakin, chief engineer in the General Services Administration's (GSA) Office of the Chief Architect on Nov. 12.Join us at ACEC headquarters or dial in and participate via teleconference and the Internet. To register, contact Anna Johnson (ajohnson@acec.org, 202-347- 7474) or go to www.acec.org.
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