Former House Speaker Gingrich Headlines 2006 Annual Convention/Legislative Summit Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives and chief architect of the "Contract with America," which fueled a Republican House majority for the first time in 40 years, will be a featured speaker at the 2006 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit, April 30-May 2 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Gingrich, who headlines an outstanding lineup of Convention speakers and activities, will discuss new directions in American politics during the Opening General Session, beginning 8 a.m. Monday May 1. Gingrich served as House Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and was a member of Congress for 20 years, representing the state of Georgia. In 1995, he was named "Man of the Year" by Time magazine. Later that same day, Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie, former chairmen of the Democratic and Republican National Committees respectively, will debate the current state of U.S. politics during the Convention's Keynote Luncheon.

Ed Gillespie, former GOP National Committee Chairman   The Convention also features the 40th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on Tuesday May 2, along with 20 cutting-edge education sessions on business management. Make your hotel reservations well in advance while rooms are available. Contact the Grand Hyatt directly at 202-582-1234 to secure your hotel room. ACEC's discounted room rates expire on March 31.   Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Click here to view Convention registration information. Register online by March 31 and receive an additional 5 percent off the registration fee. (This discount applies only to online member and non-member registrants and cannot be combined with any other discounts.)

APWA Head Says Quality And Value Are Key Benefits Of QBS Bob Freudenthal, APWA President Editor's Note: The following article was written by Bob Freudenthal, president of the American Public Works Association (APWA). For more than a decade APWA has partnered with ACEC on the advancement of key infrastructure legislation and business practices. Those of us involved in building and maintaining public works infrastructure understand how important it is to ensure quality and value for every project. That is our commitment and indeed our responsibility as members of a profession dedicated to providing the infrastructure and services on which all of our communities depend for their quality of life. The American Public Works Association (APWA) is a unique organization, a mix of 27,000 public and private sector members working in concert to educate, advocate and provide information to the public on the critical role we all play in assuring a robust infrastructure and support for economic growth. APWA has long supported quality in all public agency activities with a focus on economy, safety, efficiency, sound construction, serviceability, maintenance and operations. Along with the members of ACEC, we have long encouraged and supported the role of Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) and believe that the public interest is best served when governmental agencies select engineers, architects and related professional services and technical consultants for projects and studies through QBS. It fosters greater creativity and flexibility and minimizes the potential for disputes. Since passage of the Brooks Act in 1972, federal agencies, most states and many local communities use QBS procedures. The QBS process recognizes that engineering and design professionals play a critical role in the building of our public infrastructure. And those who use QBS understand that a significant advantage derives from its facilitation of client and consultant collaboration, which maximizes quality, value, cost-effectiveness and usefulness. It is in the best interest of taxpayers to have the most qualified firms selected to do the work. We know that through the QBS process public agencies can be confident of consistently achieving optimum costs for studies, planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of publicly funded projects. Because it supports creativity, alternative options, innovation and value, QBS is key to achieving smooth joint efforts by agencies and firms toward the common goal of a successful project. In addition to our common support and encouragement of QBS, ACEC and APWA are working together on many other shared issues through a formal partnership dating back to 1993. Our two organizations jointly support increased investment in our nation's infrastructure at the federal, state and local levels of government and are working to educate lawmakers and the public about the need to close a widening infrastructure investment gap. Support for passage of the recently enacted, and long overdue surface transportation law, SAFETEA-LU, was also an important objective for all of us. A well-maintained, adequately funded public infrastructure is one of our nation's most important assets. We look forward to continuing and strengthening our cooperative work in support of QBS and all our common goals.

Military Realignment, Transformation Creating Massive Facility Construction, Renovation Need Lucian Niemeyer (center), professional staff member for the Senate Armed Services Committee, briefs members of ACEC's Federal Agencies and Procurement Advocacy Committee on military construction opportunities and contracting procedures during a meeting this week at ACEC headquarters. The closure and realignment of military bases across the nation is creating a massive need for facility construction and renovation, Ryan Vaart, professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee, told members of ACEC's Federal Agencies and Procurement Advocacy Committee this week. The quarterly meeting held at ACEC headquarters in Washington D.C., also included presentations by officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC); General Services Administration (GSA); Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and House and Senate staffers. "The combination of base closures and realignments, global posture changes, and force transformation are a 'Perfect Storm' when it comes to facilities requirements for the military," Vaart told committee members. "Put together, this 'storm' has created many billions of dollars of construction, renovation, and maintenance bills that must be paid over the next several years," he said. He noted that the Army in particular, has an enormous challenge ahead regarding military construction, family housing, and facilities operations and maintenance. The Department of Defense has a plan in place to relocate some of the military troops stationed overseas to other parts of the world as well as back to the United States. The transformation initiative in combination with base realignment and closures leaves the Corps with a relatively short time frame to adapt necessary facility improvements needed to accommodate these changes.

Copyright © 2006 by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, stored in any form of retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photographic, or other means without the prior written permission of ACEC.

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