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House won’t take up Senate’s long-term highway bill
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said today that the House will not vote on a Senate bill that funds highway construction for six years and revives the now-expired Export-Import Bank, according to The Hill. “We’re not taking up the Senate bill,” he said. The Hill reports that McCarthy is urging the Senate to take up a short-term House-passed bill extending federal highway funding for five months, which he said is the best option for Congress before money for highways and bridges runs out on Friday. The House plans to leave for its August recess on Thursday. McCarthy did not rule out, The Hill says, the possibility that Congress could pass an even shorter-term highway bill, perhaps one that provides just two months of transportation funding. Keep Reading
Senate’s focus this week: highway funding
The Hill reports that work on a highway bill is expected to dominate the U.S. Senate's work this week, beginning with a procedural vote on Tuesday. The House of Representatives passed a five-month Highway Trust Fund fix last week, but, The Hill says, "The Senate’s persistence in forging ahead with its own bill sets up a showdown next week when one chamber will have to relent before leaving Washington for the month-long August recess." Senators have been working on a six-year, $275 billion measure, though legislators disagree on how to fund it. The Hill says supporters of the Export-Import Bank are expected to offer an amendment reauthorizing the bank's charter. This could split Republicans, including presidential candidates Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). Graham supports the bank, while Cruz has refused to rule out filibustering the highway bill if reauthorization is attached. The bill, says The Hill, faces a myriad of hurdles from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Keep Reading
NSSGA: New MSHA workplace exam guidance a concern
The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) is planning to issue new guidance on compliance for workplace exams. A new program policy letter (PPL), obtained by the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), would reportedly expand the tasks required in workplace exams and the training required for examiners. NSSGA reports that under the PPL, a “competent person” conducting workplace examinations would have to “recognize hazards… that are predictable to someone familiar with the mining industry,” which is a new concept that NSSGA believes could lead to unjustified citations. The PPL also includes a new concept that appears to mandate substantial increases in reporting. Workplace examiners would have to be task trained under Part 46 or 48 before conducting an examination, and if a “trained examiner fails to identify multiple safety hazards, this may indicate that task training … was inadequate.” Keep Reading
ARTBA Conference focuses on transportation funding
More than 200 transportation design and construction executives, financial services and consulting professionals, and government officials gathered in the Washington to discuss the role of public-private partnerships (P3s) in financing transportation infrastructure projects. Under the theme of “P3s in Transition: The Next Chapter,” participants at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 27th annual conference included more than two dozen federal and state transportation officials, as well as a panel of house transportation committee chairs from four states who shared their respective views on P3 policy. Conference attendees heard the latest details about efforts to fix the Highway Trust Fund from U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). In addition to the leading top-level speakers, the P3 conference featured more than 50 additional transportation proponents in 15 interactive sessions. Also during the event, more than two dozen transportation advocates came together for the inaugural meeting of the “Transportation Investment Advocates Council” –… Keep Reading
Dolese Bros. invests $20 million in Coleman Quarry
Dolese Bros. Co. held a grand reopening ceremony at its Coleman Quarry in Oklahoma. The ceremony celebrated the more than $20 million investment made in upgrades to the Coleman operation. The Daily Ardmoreite reports that Governor Mary Fallin, Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley and federal, state and local officials from the surrounding communities attended. Dolese president Mark Helm spoke on the economic drive the quarry provides for the local community. The Daily Ardmoreite quotes Helm, “The Coleman Quarry is important to the company and region, supplying crushed stone products that form roads, bridges, schools, medical and recreational facilities, and our homes. These products make our communities a comfortable place to live, work and play.“ The facility was more than 30 years old and had grown inefficient. New equipment will work to make the Coleman operation more productive by improving energy consumption and increasing job safety. Keep Reading
State association executives meet in Illinois
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) reports that more than a dozen directors of state aggregates associations discussed advocacy efforts for a long-term highway bill at a meeting of the Aggregates and Concrete Executives (ACE) in Springfield, Ill. Members agreed that meeting face-to-face with members of Congress in their home districts or taking them on a tour of plants and facilities are effective ways of resolving issues impeding passage of a highway bill. The group also discussed environmental management, and worker health and safety issues, including compliance with MSHA standards. Keep Reading
Six-year highway bill in the works?
The Hill is reporting that senators from both parties are hoping to reach agreement on a long-term highway bill before the July 31 deadline. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an extension of highway funding into mid-December, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set up a Tuesday vote for a long-term measure, according to the publication. The Hill reports, "Senators were even still talking up the idea that they could finish off a $275 billion, six-year deal before the looming July 31 deadline, even as most acknowledged that any final product would likely be quite a bit shorter." At that dollar figure, the bill would provide less money for transportation infrastructure than the last long-term bill, SAFETY-LU, which expired in 2009. The Hill says that while senators were talking up the chances of a long-term measure, a five-month deal still might be the best Congress can do before leaving for August recess. Another such short-term extension could mean that any hopes for a long-term bill would have to… Keep Reading
House passes highway funding extension, awaits Senate response
Facing a July 31 deadline to get something done, The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an $8 billion measure to extend federal transportation funding into mid-December. The bill is set to go to the Senate, which is working on its own highway bill. The Hill reports that Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oka.) predicts senators will be able to quickly pass a long-term highway bill. "I anticipate that we will have actually passed in the next few days ... a long-term, maybe a six-year highway reauthorization bill," says Inhofe, the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The Senate version is expected to include an amendment to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has not ruled out filibustering a federal transportation-funding bill if it includes such an amendment. The Export-Import Bank finances overseas investments by U.S. companies. Keep Reading
Lafarge and Holcim complete global mega-merger
Lafarge S.A. and Holcim Ltd. have completed their global merger and have launched LafargeHolcim, a world leader in the building materials industry. LafargeHolcim began trading today on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich with the ticker symbol LHN and on Euronext in Paris, joining the Swiss Market Index (SMI) and the CAC 40 index (replacing Lafarge S.A.) respectively. LafargeHolcim also unveiled its new logo and its new website at www.lafargeholcim.com. Wolfgang Reitzle, co-chairman of the board of directors of LafargeHolcim, says, “[This] is a historic event – not only for our two founding companies but also for the industry as a whole. LafargeHolcim has a unique business portfolio, is the industry benchmark in R&D and offers its customers the widest range of innovative and value-adding products, services and solutions – from smallholders to large enterprises and most complex projects.” Bruno Lafont, the company's other co-chairman, adds, “This new company is built on the rich history and culture of Lafarge and Holcim and its teams. The merger has not only resulted… Keep Reading
