Although a late-2018 deadline passed without a formal proposal, members of the U.S. Senate Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans vowed to continue pursuing a solution to the funding crisis engulfing organized labor retirement systems. In a joint statement, co-chairs Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and his retiring colleague, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), noted:
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House approves Concrete Masonry Products Promotion Act
Source: National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va. On the opening day of the 114th Congress lame duck session, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 985, the Concrete Masonry Products, Research, Education and Promotion Act of 2015 by a 355–38 vote. The legislation authorizes the concrete masonry industry to pursue the creation of an industry-wide check-off program. Such programs have…
Read MoreAGENCY RULES TAX STATE COFFERS, UNDERMINE FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS
New Labor Department rules spike OSHA civil penalty amounts
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
Abiding the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act, through which Congress aims to advance violation fines’ effectiveness, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and sister agencies are directed to adjust penalty scales annually using what Labor Department officials describe as a much more straightforward method than previously available.
Read MoreMaterials Group: Highway authorization warrants years, not months
Sources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
On behalf of members representing concrete and asphalt interests, the Highway Materials Group calls on Congress to pass a longer term transportation authorization bill following a temporary highway and bridge funding patch approved as Capitol Hill approached an August recess.
Read MoreCivil Engineers debunk Highway Trust Fund myths
In conjunction with the mid-June launch of a campaign-style website, www.fixthefund.org, and federal construction interests’ Rally for Roads on Capitol Hill, American Society of Civil Engineers’ Becky Moylan offered perspective on past, present and future of the federal transportation program.
Read MoreDOT’s Foxx, 11 predecessors eschew short-term highway funding mind set
Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation; CP staff
As Congress confronts Highway Trust Fund shortfalls, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 of his predecessors have informed federal lawmakers that their work does not end with a proposed measure maintaining highway, bridge and transit program funding levels through May 2015.
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