ACEC President's Monthly Update - June 1, 2011
Dear Colleagues – Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. The past month in Washington has been very active – with Congressional consideration of proposed reforms to the Small Business Size standard, new legislation to remove the state volume cap on Private Activity Bonds for water financing, testimony on 3% withholding repeal, and a rally on Capitol Hill to get a new six year transportation bill passed. ACEC members figured prominently in these efforts through their testimony before important House committees and record setting contributions to ACEC/PAC to support pro-industry members of Congress. At the same time ACEC’s educational programs maintained a high level of participation in business webinars and on site seminars; in particular ACEC’s “fundamentals of A/E business management” course received highest ratings from attendees. As we get into June, ACEC along with the US Chamber of Commerce and other allies will be launching a major grass-roots campaign to repeal the 3% withholding; we will be in touch with you next week about this. David Raymond, ACEC President PRESIDENT’S MONTHLY UPDATE
June 1, 2011 General - ACEC joined key business associations and Members of Congress in a “Rally for Roads” on Capitol Hill urging Congress to pass a new six-year federal highway bill.
- Opposed draft proposal under consideration by Obama Administration to require government contractors to reveal political contributions in advance of being considered for project awards.
- ACEC/PAC fundraising set record pace; ACEC/Indiana is latest state organization to reach its 2011 goal.
- Held special orientation session for three new ACEC state executive directors – Eric Madden (PA), Jayne Martinko (WI), and Rob Casto (WV).
Government Affairs
- Testified in support of 3% withholding repeal at House Small Business Committee hearing; Ian Frost of EEE Consulting presented ACEC’s position.
- Testified on small business size standard at House Small Business Committee hearing; secured extension for deadline on comments in order to develop unified industry position; John Woods of Woods Peacock Engineering Consultants represented ACEC.
- Introduced legislation to remove the state volume cap on Private Activity Bonds for water and wastewater financing, allowing municipalities easier access to capital for water infrastructure projects.
- Met with senior officials from the Departments of State and Commerce on how to increase overseas infrastructure work for U.S. firms; 14 member firms participated.
- Hosted industry roundtable with Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on surface transportation program and pending FAA and water legislation.
- Hosted industry “meet and greet” at ACEC headquarters for freshmen Congressmen David McKinley (WV) and Pat Meehan (PA).
- Hosted congressional fundraising events for Reps. Sam Graves (MO) Devin Nunes (CA) and Bill Pascrell (NJ).
Institute for Business Management
- Popular business webinars during May included: What Every Employer Needs to Know about Social Media; 2010 Court Decisions You Need to Know; Why the Green Globes Rating System Is an ANSI Standard; What Your Firm Needs to Know About the New Health Care Law.
- ACEC’s Business of Design Consulting “fundamentals of business” course received top marks from attendees.
- Launched Ten Top Legal Issues Facing Engineers, a program featuring general counsels of ACEC firms discussing legal issues critical to engineering business, including insurance, non-standard contracts and healthcare requirements.
- Provided an ACEC bookstore at the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) conference as part of the ongoing ACEC-SAME partnership.
- Three new CASE management publications (Staffing and Revenue Projection Tool; Project Work Plan Template; Managing Use of Computers and Software in the Structural Engineering Office) are available to members.
- Bookstore top sellers: 2010 ACEC Professional Liability Survey of Member Firms; EJCDC E-500 Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner & Engineer for Professional Services; EJCDC C-520 Suggested Form of Agreement Between Owner & Contractor, Stipulated Price; and CASE 962-B National Practice Guidelines for Specialty Structural Engineers.
- Added Hewlett Packard as a new member discount partner, offering special pricing on a wide range of HP business products.
- Increased education providers in RCEP to 78, and grew RCEP database to more than 15,000 records of professionals.
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