Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007 - (Page 2)

F RO M ACEC TO YOU ENGINEERINGINC. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS The Time to Act Is Now for ‘Citizen Lobbyists’ Several critical legislative issues affecting the business climate of all members will require our attention this spring, including the full strength of the Council’s “citizen lobbyists” at our upcoming Annual Convention in May. To be delivered in a large and unified voice to House and Senate members and staff, our recommendations are: • Defeat the 3 Percent Withholding Mandate—ACEC is leading a broad coalition to overturn a new 3 percent withholding mandate on government contracts, which is scheduled to take effect in 2011. This provision, which would apply to all contracts of federal, state or local governments that spend $100 million or more annually, is patently unfair, adds another layer of taxation and is something we intend to repeal. • Pass New Water Legislation—ACEC is supporting two major water bills in Congress: the Water Resources Development Act, which could reach the House floor in the coming weeks, authorizes more than $10 billion for future Corps of Engineers projects. The Water Quality Financing Act of 2007, which was passed by the House on March 9, authorizes $14 billion over four years for wastewater projects funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, and includes an ACEC-backed Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) provision. • Promote Expansion of H-1B Visa Program—To ameliorate the growing shortage of engineers, the Council is advocating expansion of the H-1B visa program to acquire more engineering talent from abroad, along with education measures, such as increased scholarship opportunities, to encourage more young Americans to pursue engineering careers. • Promote a Solution for the Long-term Transportation Funding Shortfall— The Transportation Trust Fund is expected to go bankrupt by 2009, the final year of SAFETEA LU, unless remedial action is taken. Among the options Congress needs to consider are increasing and indexing for inflation the motor fuels tax, and innovative financing options to raise private capital and dedicated user fees. These all are bottom-line issues, and we need a large turnout from our members to help make our case on Capitol Hill. See you in Washington! Jeff M. Daggett David A. Raymond Mary Ann Emely Steven Hall Jeffrey L. Beard Richard A. Belle Alan D. Crockett Andrea Keeney akeeney@acec.org (202) 682-4347 VICE PRESIDENT, INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CHIEF MARKETING/ COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS and MEDIA STAFF EDITOR ACEC PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Edward J. Mulcahy THE MAGAZINE GROUP Thomas Halligan Jeff Kibler PROJECT MANAGER Mary Mieszczanski MANAGING EDITOR ART DIRECTOR ADVERTISING SALES Patrick Brookover Sales Director ACEC 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005-2605 (202) 347-7474 pbrookover@acec.org Engineering Inc., Volume 18, Number 2 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscriptions are $24 for members (included in dues as a non-deductible amount); $45 for U.S. non-members; $65 for institutional subscriptions. Back issues are $15. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Engineering Inc., c/o ACEC, 1015 15th Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. © 2007 American Council of Engineering Companies. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied, downloaded from the ACEC website, stored in electronic or hard-copy format, and disseminated to third parties for educational and information purposes. ACEC expressly disclaims any liability for damages of any kind in connection with such copying, downloading, storage, and/or dissemination. By copying, downloading, storing and/or disseminating this publication, the recipient of this publication expressly agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold ACEC, its officers, directors, employees, volunteers and agents harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, claims, causes of action and liabilities, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or resulting from the recipient’s use of this publication. Notwithstanding the above, no part of this publication may be altered, resold, licensed, or used for any other commercial purposes without the prior written permission of ACEC. Recipients may opt out of receiving the electronic version of this publication from ACEC by sending an email with the subject line “Unsubscribe” to ACEC at magazine@acec.org. For more current news on ACEC issues and developments, subscribe to the weekly electronic newsletter, Last Word. To subscribe, contact abrandstadter@ acec.org or pbrookover@acec.org. For members without electronic access, a fax-on-demand version is available. Contact Ann Brandstadter for information at 202-682-4333. Jeff M. Daggett ACEC Chairman 2 ENGINEERING INC. MARCH / APRIL 2007 David A. Raymond ACEC President & CEO WW W. A C E C . O R G http://www.acec.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007

Contents
From ACEC to You
News & Notes
Legislative Action
Market Watch
Cover Story: Alternative Energy
The Greening of Wal-Mart
Re-Energizing the Industry
The BIM Boom
Help Wanted: Leaders for Tomorrow
The Path of Perseverance
ACEC/PAC Achieves Record Fundraising Year
ACEC Annual Convention
Helping Firms Manage Healthcare Costs
Facilities Management for A/E Firms
Business Insights
Members In The News
One on One

Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007