House, Senate Vote to Override Veto of Water Resources Bill

The U.S. House and Senate this week voted to override the President's veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, or WRDA (H.R. 1495), by votes of 361-54 and 79-14, respectively. 

With the Senate vote yesterday, the legislation immediately becomes law. 

Among other things, the legislation authorized more than 900 navigation, flood control, water supply, and environmental restoration projects under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The President vetoed the measure last Friday, citing that the $23 billion price tag on the bill was "both unnecessary and unaffordable."

Contact David Hubbard.

House Transportation Committee Approves Revised Bridge Bill

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week approve legislation aimed at reducing the backlog of structurally deficient bridges on the National Highway System. 

The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2007 (H.R. 3999), authorizes $1 billion annually in general fund appropriations in each of FY 2008 and 2009.  The funds are to be apportioned to states under the existing bridge formula and are not subject to transfer or earmarking. 

The bill also requires an immediate update of bridge inspection standards, uniformity among state standards and systems, and certification of all state bridge inspectors.

H.R. 3999 also prohibits states from "flex" transferring contract authority under the existing bridge program to other highway programs unless the U.S. Department of Transportation determines that the state has no structurally deficient federal bridges.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) said he hopes to have the bridge bill on the House floor in the first week of December.

Contact David Hubbard.

Conferees Agree on Defense Appropriations Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved the conference report for the FY 2008 Department of Defense appropriations bill.

Upon approval by the U.S. Senate, the legislation will go to the President for signature.  The legislation provides the funding for manpower, equipment procurement, and research for the military services. 

Of particular interest to NACA members, the legislation includes $1.6 million for a PCA-advocated research & development (R&D) program for Blast Resistant Concrete Products.  The R&D project, being conducted through a formal agreement with the U.S. Air Force, will determine if the inclusion of insulating foam into a concrete wall provides any blast mitigation benefits. 

This testing, initiated in 2004 and the first test conducted in 2006, will look at wall panels constructed of precast/prestressed insulated concrete, insulated tilt-up concrete, solid grouted exterior insulated concrete masonry, cast-in-place insulated concrete and insulated concrete foam sections.

Contact John Sullivan.

Senate Holds Hearing on Lieberman-Warner Climate Bill

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a full legislative hearing Friday on America's Safe Climate Act (S. 2191).  The committee Republicans, specifically Senators George Voinovich (R-Ohio), David Vitter (R-La.), and Larry Craig (R-Idaho), remarked on the speed in which the legislation was planned to move through the committee, and asked EPW Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D. Calif.) to postpone a markup until full analysis from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration be conducted and distributed to the Committee members.  Republicans also again addressed concerns with the lack of nuclear provisions, as well as the economic impacts of the legislation.

Democratic members of the Committee mostly commended the efforts of bill co-sponsors Senators Joe Lieberman (I/D-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.).  On the other hand, Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) did not express support for the bill because of provisions that were not yet addressed in the legislation, though it should be noted they could be added later in amendment form.

There are two more full Committee legislative hearings scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, followed by mark-up of the bill, currently slated for December 5.

Contact David Hubbard.

Study Reports Power Take-Off Fuel Use Rate for Concrete Mixers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report on Power Take-Off (PTO) fuel use, as required by Section 11144 of the current federal-aid highway program, has been completed and delivered to Congress. 

Section 11144 directs the IRS to estimate the amount of tax-paid fuel consumed due to the PTO operations of various truck types. including ready mixed concrete trucks.  It also calls for determining whether it is technically and administratively feasible to exempt PTO related fuel use from the federal excise tax.

Using a weighted average of state allowances for ready mixed concrete trucks, the IRS determined that 30.2% of a ready mixed concrete truck's fuel use is due to PTO off-highway business use. 

Applying this percentage to data derived from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS), the IRS determined the ready mixed concrete industry consumes 87,951,308 gallons annually for its PTO operations. This translates to about 1,142 gallons per truck per year.  Multiplying the 1,142 gallons by the current tax rate of $0.244 would create the basis for an annual tax credit of $278 per truck.

Although the report indicates that allowance of a credit for PTO fuel use would present the IRS with challenges relating to the potential for fraud and would require additional agency resources, it did not conclude that a PTO credit would be either technically or administratively unfeasible.  

Contact Robert Sullivan.

House Passes Measure for Catastrophe Insurance Fund

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 3355, legislation that would allow states to pool insurance funds to provide coverage for natural disasters in an effort to provide more affordable homeowner coverage. 

The measure, which passed 258-155, would also create a federal loan program for any state reinsurance fund facing a significant financial shortfall following a natural disaster.
  
Florida lawmakers, whose constituents have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, have pushed strongly for the bill, which they contend would allow state insurance funds to purchase less-expensive reinsurance and pass those savings along to customers.

An amendment by Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) would require states under the program to have building code standards consistent with the International Code Council building codes. The amendment was approved by voice vote.

H.R. 3355 is opposed by a number of insurance groups, including the American Insurance Association.  The group contends the measure would erode the private marketplace, especially in the reinsurance market.  

In addition, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and an insurance industry ally, has expressed reservations about the House measure.  He introduced two bills yesterday to address the natural disaster risk coverage. One would provide tax credits to homeowners to offset the cost of their premiums.  The other Dodd bill would provide $200 million in annual funding to states for mitigation assistance, including elevating at-risk properties, installing storm shutters, and constructing safe rooms.

Contact Robert Sullivan.

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