Reward Of Membership— "Clear Sign To Clients" Employees at Reece, Noland & McElrath, Inc. in Waynesville, N.C., understand the full power of ACEC membership. As an active ACEC member, RN&M employees are regular participants in several ACEC education seminars including project management, negotiations, and FLSA. But how can the firm show value of that participation to clients? RN&M discovered a great way—the ACEC Member Seal. "Through ACEC, a firm such as ours can keep up-to-date with the latest business practices and policy changes that affect our bottom line," said RN&M Vice President Jeff Reece. "The ACEC Member Seal provides a clear sign to our clients that we are committed to staying at the forefront of our industry." Members can view RN&M's use of the ACEC member seal at www.rnm-engineers.com. If you would like to download the ACEC member seal, just contact the ACEC Membership Department at pbrookover@acec.org.

House Clears '06 Transportation Spending Bill The House of Representatives last week passed its F.Y. 2006 transportation spending bill, which provides record funding for transportation programs, including $37 billion for highways (nearly $2 billion over current spending), $8.5 billion for transit (an $800 million increase), and $3.6 billion for airport infrastructure. The House rejected a major Bush Administration-proposed funding cut to Amtrak. The Administration initially proposed a $360 million funding level. The House Appropriations Committee included $550 million for Amtrak in its bill during committee consideration, which was further boosted to $1.17 billion by a vote of the full House. In addition, the House struck down language in the base bill that would have shut down some long distance train routes. By a close vote, the House also agreed to an amendment that would effectively halt the Administration's competitive sourcing program. The program, which opens up commercial work performed by government employees to competition from the private sector, has been the subject of similar attacks in past years. ACEC intends to fight this language during Conference negotiations, and has been successful in removing these amendments in the past. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up its version of the transportation spending bill the week of July 11.

ACEC's Fall Conference Means Business Attend top-notch business education programs at the upcoming Fall Conference, September 21-24 at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Walt Disney World, Florida. At the Conference, attendees can choose from any of 35 cutting-edge business education sessions led by key industry experts. Educational sessions cover eight important business tracks: leadership and ethics; project management/project delivery; business management and quality; human resources; finance; contracts and risk management; marketing and business development; and information technology. The Conference also offers an impressive roster of speakers including: Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey, former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and Denver Stutler, secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation. Click here to register online now and save 5 percent on the registration fee.

Wyoming Senator Enzi Tells ACEC He Wants To Break AHP Legislation Gridlock Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) ACEC and its coalition partners met last week with Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, to discuss the Senator's agenda for reducing the health insurance burden for small businesses. Enzi, who expressed his commitment to passing a package of reforms that includes language to promote Association Health Plans (AHP), outlined a number of "principals" that he believes will help to break the gridlock over current AHP legislation (S. 406, the Small Business Health Fairness Act) and increase the likelihood of passing meaningful health care reform. While the details of Enzi's proposal are still being developed, the Senator indicated his desire to include many of the provisions currently in S. 406 that could help lower the administrative costs of ACEC's AHP and increase access to health insurance for ACEC members. AHP legislation has received strong bipartisan support in the House for many years and has passed the chamber by large margins. However, the measure has been stalled in the Senate. "This is a positive development because it's the first real opportunity for serious consideration of AHP legislation in the Senate," said ACEC Life/Health Trust President Derrell Johnson. "I commend Chairman Enzi for reaching out to our coalition and we look forward to working with his staff on meaningful legislation."

Treasury Report Recommends Against Extension Of Terrorism Insurance Act The Treasury Department last week released a long-awaited report, which recommended against the Congressional extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA). ACEC and its business allies do not agree with the Treasury's report. The business community's goal is a backstop that ensures an adequate supply of terrorism insurance while, at the same time, addresses gaps in current coverage and creates a system that maximizes the development of private market solutions. ACEC will continue to work with Congressional leaders to help them better understand TRIA's role and importance to the engineering industry. While the Treasury Department found that "TRIA was effective in terms of the purposes it was designed to achieve," its final recommendation was that "extending TRIA would have little impact on the economy given its current strength." Chuck Kopplin, member of ACEC's Risk Management Committee, commented that "while the lack of terrorism insurance may not be immediately felt by most engineering firms, if construction projects and real estate developments are stalled, the economic effects will surely trickle down." Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over TRIA, indicated that "it is possible that Congress will need to craft a temporary extension of the program to provide time to address this dysfunction and ease the sun-setting of the program. However, any extension of TRIA should be narrow, targeted and minimize interference with our markets," he said.

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