BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- During its annual meeting
in Washington, DC, the Construction Writers Association (CWA) heard a
series of presentations designed to update members on government's role in
the construction industry.
Congressman LaHood
The keynote speaker for CWA's annual meeting was Congressman Ray LaHood
(R-IL.), a seasoned lawmaker serving his seventh term representing
residents of central and western Illinois. With candor and authority,
LaHood predicted that the 2008 presidential race will pit Senator John
McCain vs. Senator Hillary Clinton. "Voters in the 2008 campaign will be
looking to insiders who have experience in Washington and foreign affairs,
and can put the fiscal house in order," he said. He also predicted that
health care will be a big issue in 2008.
The election call followed a review of three hot button issues: energy
independence, Iraq and immigration.
Rep. LaHood cited the need for Congressional measures to raise fuel
efficiency standards on cars and sport utility vehicles, and provide
appropriate incentives for consumers to drive fuel-efficient vehicles. Oil
refinery capacity must also be expanded. We are part of the problem in fuel
consumption and have to recognize the need for fuel alternatives such as
ethanol and other bio-based fuels, and persuade people to begin to
conserve, he said. Even in fuel-intensive industries such as construction,
LaHood said, "We've got to develop technologies that consume less fuel."
LaHood predicted that Congress would have an Iraq funding bill by the
end of May, one without a timetable for troop withdrawal. LaHood and his
colleagues are looking toward September when Gen. David Petraeus will
present a status report. Between now and then, they hope the new plan to
bring stability will take hold.
The congressman also told session attendees that one of the single
biggest issues currently facing lawmakers on Capitol Hill is immigration
reform, which is a major subject of concern for the construction industry.
LaHood warned that America's porous borders threaten national security, and
action must be taken to improve border patrol efforts. LaHood stated that
businesses must be diligent in verifying the citizenship status of their
employees, although he conceded that illegal immigrants are often able to
submit convincing forged and fake documents. Amid all debate on the issue
is the fact that, "Illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans don't
want," he said.
Washington Insider's Panel
To address more specific legislative issues confronting the
construction industry, Pamela Whitted, vice president of government affairs
for the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), Carin
Nersesian, director of legislative affairs for Associated Builders and
Contractors (ABC), and Christian Klein, vice president of government
affairs for Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), presented a panel
discussion addressing various concerns across industry sectors.
Whitted said one of NSSGA's top priorities is transportation-related
legislation. She estimated that it would cost approximately $78 billion per
year to maintain, rehabilitate and expand the nation's highways and bridges
through 2024. These are vital improvements that will help decrease
congestion, while improving safety and air quality. Whitted discussed
different transportation funding options, including government support,
fuel and vehicle taxes, and highway user fees, but warned that
public-private partnerships are "not necessarily a panacea."
Nersesian gave an overview of three legislative issues that could have
serious implications for the construction industry: the Employee Free
Choice Act, comprehensive immigration reform, and the 3-percent contractor
withholding provision in the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act
of 2005 (TIPRA).
Strongly supported by labor unions, the Employee Free Choice Act (S.
1041, H.R. 800) would replace federally supervised private-ballot workplace
union elections with a card check process, which allows a union to organize
if a majority of workers sign a card stating that they would like to be
represented by the union. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the
Employee Free Choice Act in March, and the bill was introduced in the
Senate in April. President Bush has announced that he will veto the bill if
it reaches his desk.
Describing it as a "good start to moving the immigration debate
forward," Nersesian discussed the Security Through Regularized Immigration
and Vibrant Economy Act of 2007, a bipartisan comprehensive immigration
reform measure introduced in the House in March. Nersesian said that
immigration debaters can be divided into three camps: the anti-immigration
group, the family-interest group and the employer community. She noted that
the business community has many concerns regarding employee verification
requirements, increased criminal penalties and the need for an effective
guest worker program.
Nersesian also highlighted a new provision in TIPRA that requires all
government entities - federal, state and local - to deduct and withhold 3
percent from all payments for goods and services. Legislation has been
introduced in both the House and Senate to repeal this "potentially harmful
provision," Nersesian said. She warned that the provision would seriously
impede cash flow and place an unfair accounting burden on many construction
firms.
Klein highlighted the results of AED's recent membership survey, which
found that AED members are focused on solving the highway funding crisis,
lowering health care costs and finding skilled workers. Klein also touched
on AED's key issues, including global warming, federal water investment,
airport funding reauthorization and the enforcement of surge brake rules.
Klein led an in-depth discussion of estate or "death" taxes, a major issue
for family-owned construction businesses. Under current law, the death tax
will be repealed in 2010, but will return in 2011 at an increased rate.
Legislation introduced last year would have capped the maximum rate at 30
percent, but the outlook for the measure is uncertain in the new Congress,
stated Klein.
Highway Historian Dan McNichol
The final session of the meeting was designed to begin the celebration
of CWA's 50th anniversary year. Historian Dan McNichol, author of The Roads
That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System,
treated session attendees to a brief slideshow of his seven-week,
12,000-mile "Great American Road Trip," a 19-state promotional book tour
traveled entirely in a 1951 Hudson Pacemaker. McNichol then provided an
in-depth look at the history of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system,
"the largest civil construction project in the world," which celebrated its
50th anniversary last year. In researching his book on the interstate
system, McNichol concluded that the highways serve a "dual purpose" -- to
allow U.S. citizens to travel freely around the country and to provide the
U.S. military with a well-maintained, connected infrastructure for easy
wartime mobilization.
McNichol said a good example of the importance of the highway system
emerged on Sept. 11, 2001, when "construction companies in the Midwest and
across the nation used the highway system to rush cranes and other heavy
equipment to Ground Zero to assist in the recovery." Additionally, McNichol
pointed out that all of the nation's major delivery companies - FedEx, UPS
and the USPS - turned to the highway system to "keep us moving" after their
planes were grounded.
McNichol, who was part of Boston's Big Dig Project and wrote a book on
the subject, warned that increased funding is needed to maintain and expand
the interstate system, emphasizing the vital role that highways play in
helping to reduce congestion and the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.
McNichol ended his presentation by thanking CWA and announcing that he had
become the association's newest member earlier that morning.
The Construction Writers Association, founded in 1958, is a non-profit,
non-partisan, international organization for professional journalists,
writers, editors, photographers, marketers and publicists serving the
information needs of the construction industry. In addition to its
journalism, photography, marketing communications and website awards
programs, CWA provides educational meetings and networking opportunities
for its members. For more information, visit the Construction Writers
Association website at http://www.constructionwriters.org.
SOURCE Construction Writers Association
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.constructionwriters.org
CONTACT:
Sheila Wertz, Executive Director of
Construction Writers Association, +1-847-398-7756, fax,
+1-847-590-5241, office@constructionwriters.org
|
