Engineering Inc. - March/April 2008 - (Page 9)

allows countries to use their own procurement rules on bankfinanced projects. ACEC believes that the proposal fails to ensure that the procurement practices of borrowing countries are equivalent to World Bank guidelines. Such changes might increase instances of fraud and corruption under bank-funded projects. “The proposal is essentially a green light for borrowing countries to disregard international best practices in procurement and utilize any procurement methodologies they see fit, as long as they meet watered-down requirements,” said ACEC International Committee Chairman Bill Howard. ACEC and its coalition allies recommended improvements, and Congress intervened on behalf of our coalition by including language in the omnibus appropriations bill in December that would withhold 10 percent of U.S. funding to the bank until the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury reports on the extent to which the bank has applied its procurement guidelines, including Standard Bidding Documents, to all bank-funded projects, including those under the pilot program. The language requires the bank to hold additional consultations with the private sector regarding the implementation of the pilot program and requires “pilot program countries” to meet all of the bank’s antifraud and anticorruption policies. congressional leaders request study on Water trust fund ACEC is supporting an effort by senior members of the U.S. House infrastructure and tax-writing committees to work with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to find new ways to fund water projects around the country. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) joined Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) of the House Ways and Means Committee in asking GAO for recommendations to create a new Clean Water Trust Fund. Federal funding for wastewater facilities and other water-related projects currently is subject to available appropriations each year, and funding has varied widely in recent years. Congress provided more than $1 billion for wastewater projects under the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund program in 2007, but that funding level dropped to $688 million in 2008 and President Bush’s budget request for 2009 reduces it further to $555 million. “Federal appropriations are on the decline, and I fully expect that the president’s budget will, again, miss the mark on address- house education Bill follows acec lead to aid engineering students The U.S. House of Representatives in February passed a major education bill that includes a key provision based on ACEC proposals to encourage more students to pursue engineering and other technical careers. The legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (H.R. 4137) includes a program that provides up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for individuals serving in “high-need professions.” ACEC worked to ensure engineering was included on that list. The provision is modeled Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) after legislation drafted last year by ACEC and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). The bill, called the Strategic Technology/Engineering Program (STEP) Act of 2007, sought to create a new scholarship and loan forgiveness program for engineering students. Cleaver introduced the bill in September. Although the provision included in H.R. 4137 is not as expansive as the Cleaver bill, it represents an important step forward in addressing the nation’s engineer shortage. “We need to find a way to put more kids into the pipeline toward rewarding careers in engineering,” said former ACEC Chairman Ed Mulcahy Ed Mulcahy of TranSystems, who worked with Cleaver’s staff to draft the bill. “This legislation will help us to accomplish this objective.” ing the nation’s water infrastructure needs,” said Oberstar. He has asked GAO to identify methods of raising at least $10 billion per year to maintain and upgrade wastewater treatment and sewer-collection systems. The GAO study is scheduled for completion in January of next year. Based on its findings, Oberstar is expected to introduce new legislation. n for more neWs For weekly legislative news, visit ACEC’s Last Word online at www.acec.org. MaRCh / apRIl 2008 ENGINEERING INC. 9 http://www.acec.org

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Engineering Inc. - March/April 2008

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