The Highway and Aviation trust funds are not affected by the spending cuts in the agreement, but programs supported by the General Fund, such as high-speed rail, TIGER intermodal discretionary grants and the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs that support water projects, could be adversely impacted.

With the debt ceiling crisis resolved, ACEC and its allies are intensifying their lobbying for key industry issues, such as a new multi-year surface transportation program and other infrastructure investment, which is expected to move in September.

“The more we can get Congress focused back onto a jobs agenda, the better our case becomes for a new emphasis on infrastructure investments,” said ACEC President Dave Raymond.

Click here to see a summary of the agreement.

In addition to stopping projects, Congress’s inaction has brought a halt to the collection of ticket taxes and other aviation-related fees.

"This failure is unconscionable," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "Each day without a bill means $30 million in foregone user fees, depleting the balance of the Aviation Trust Fund and sidelining engineers on critical infrastructure projects."

To see an updated list of projects with stop-work orders, click here.

Private nonresidential construction propelled the increase, climbing 1.8 percent. The most active construction sectors were manufacturing and power (both up 4 percent), commercial (3.1 percent) and health care (2.3).

Public construction spending dropped 0.7 percent in June, with the biggest decreases in educational construction (down 4.1 percent) and highway and street construction (1.6 percent).

Click here to view monthly data.

Featured speakers at the Conference include Jacobs CEO Craig Martin, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, CDM CEO Richard Fox, Sargent & Lundy CEO Alan "Bud" Wendorf and AMEC Earth & Environment President Hisham Mahmoud.

For more information on the Fall Conference and to register, click here.

Participants in ACEC's 2011 Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities will get an up-close look at emerging opportunities in sustainable development, including legislation, regulations and standards that are driving this growing market. The 3½-day course will examine the new ISI infrastructure rating tool, key sustainable design issues and processes, profit opportunities in sustainable development, and the growing applications of "green" engineering by today's top practitioners.

A special field trip to the nearby Smithsonian Environmental Research Center will provide exclusive access to the facility's ongoing research, including a wetlands area that is the subject of one of the world's longest-running studies of climate change.

For special early bird price, register by August 5. Click here for agenda, faculty details and to register.

Are you fully utilizing the beneficial tax provisions potentially available to your engineering business?

In the interactive webinar, 3 Beneficial Tax Provisions: What Engineering Firms Should Know, Dean Zerbe, alliantgroup, LP, identifies and analyzes three IRS key rules: 179D–Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings; R&D Tax Credit; and tax incentives for overseas work.

Click here to register.

In this timely webinar, 'LEEDigation:' Current and Future Green Building Legal Issues, Chris Cheatham, construction attorney and a LEED Accredited Professional, explains the single most effective green building risk management tool for A/E firms.

Using real-life green building cases, Cheatham will discuss risk management strategies that firms and their clients can implement to avoid the liabilities—and potential litigation—related to LEED-certified projects.

Click here for details and to register.

In Writing the Perfect FONSI — Finding of No Significant Impact, Owen Schmidt, former senior counsel at USDA, demonstrates the finer points of a fail-safe technique for writing the perfect FONSI.

This webinar is a must for planners, environmental specialists, project managers, decision-makers, attorneys, and those in related fields who are responsible for preparing or reviewing Environmental Assessments (EAs) and FONSIs.

Click here to register.

ACEC's practical bottom-line course Essentials of A/E Financial Management and Firm Valuation, November 3-4, Orlando, will teach attendees how to use powerful accounting tools to energize their businesses.

Presented by David Cohen, principal, Matheson Financial Advisors, Inc., the course will cover project management financials, income statements, balance sheet development and interpretation, firm valuation, internal ownership transition planning, mergers and acquisitions, and related financial management issues—from ways to increase cash flow to benchmarking against other firms in the industry.

Click here to review the full course agenda and to register.

Agenda topics for the September 12-13 Finance Forum meeting include general accounting issues, organizational issues, disaster recovery programs, AASHTO Guide and FAR, update on mobile workforce and techno tools, and 401(k) and incentive compensation. Click here to register.

Agenda topics for the September 12-13 IT Forum include WAN latest approaches, Citrix & VDI, LAN technologies, AutoCAD 2012 and Office 2010, unified communications, SharePoint, machine/user issues, management/application updates, and system optimizing—built-in (Microsoft) vs. third party software and hardware. Click here to register.