Engineering Inc - May/June 2017 - 9

ISSUES ON THE MOVE

WHAT'S NEXT

Highway Trust Fund Solvency

Action on infrastructure/tax
expected late summer/fall

Health Care Reform

Senate action expected
in the summer

FY18 Funding for Overseas
Development

Action expected in the
summer

ACEC's Tax Reform Priorities
During the Annual Convention Capitol Hill visits,
Member Firm executives
advocated for comprehensive tax reform that provides
equal treatment to C corporations and pass-through
entities, including S corporations, partnerships, and
sole proprietorships.

Members also underscored the importance
of maintaining the cash
method of accounting, the
Section 199 domestic production activities deduction,
provisions to encourage
employee ownership, and
proposals to incentivize services exports.

LUNAMARINA/THINKSTOCK

ALEX WONG / STAFF / GETTYIMAGES

ACEC's efforts to limit single-step designbuild and stop the use of reverse auctions
on design-build construction will take a step
forward when Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio,
and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, reintroduce
the Construction Consensus Procurement
Improvement Act.
ACEC and industry allies have long
opposed the use of single-step design-build,
Sen. Rob Portman
which puts the emphasis on teams that
submit the cheapest bid. The bill would limit R-Ohio
the use of single-step design-build in civilian
construction to smaller projects (under $3
million), strongly encouraging the two-phase
process, which places greater weight on the
qualifications of the competing teams.
The bill would also prohibit the use
of reverse auctions in any federal designbuild project. Reverse auctions require that
participants submit bids in an online timeSen. Mazie Hirono
limited competition. Despite a report from
D-Hawaii
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stating that
reverse auctions did not provide "significant or marginal savings,"
federal agencies continue to use this process for certain construction
projects.
The House version of the bill (H.R. 679) was approved by the
Oversight and Government Reform Committee in February.

BILL CLARK / CONTRIBUTOR / GETTYIMAGES

DESIGN-BUILD REFORM MOVES
FORWARD IN THE SENATE

ACEC Opposes
Funding Cuts for
Department of State
and USAID

ACEC-Backed Water
Trust Fund Bill Reintroduced

LUCHSCHEN / THINKSTOCK

Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and John Duncan, R-Tenn.,
reintroduced ACEC-backed legislation to create a dedicated trust
fund for water infrastructure projects around the country.
The Water Infrastructure Trust Fund Act of 2017 would
create a voluntary fee for water user industries to be deposited
in a trust fund and disbursed through the existing Clean Water
State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
programs. Companies that participate in the program could
include a special supporter logo in their advertisements.
The council has long advocated creating a dedicated trust fund
for water to address the estimated $500 billion gap in water
and wastewater funding over the next 20 years.

ACEC President and CEO Dave Raymond called
on House and Senate appropriators to fully
fund U.S. foreign aid agencies in the 2018 State
and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill in
order to bolster U.S. competitiveness in foreign
markets.
President Trump's preliminary budget would
impose 27 percent funding cuts on the U.S.
Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Trade
Adjustment Authority and the Overseas Private
Investment Corp.
Raymond emphasized the critical role of
these agencies in supporting U.S. foreign policy,
as well as promoting U.S. exports, including
engineering services.
He also urged lawmakers to adopt language
to encourage USAID to hire U.S. engineering
firms in international development projects.

MAY / JUNE 2017

For
More
News
For weekly
legislative
news, visit
ACEC's Last
Word online
at www.
acec.org.

ENGINEERING INC.

http://www.acec.org http://www.acec.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc - May/June 2017