ACEC/Indiana members with Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) during the Convention Capitol Hill visits. Pictured left to right are Gary Pohl, Butler Fairman and Seufert; Sanjay Patel, VS Engineering; Marlin "Mak" Knowles, American Structurepoint; David Mohler, American Structurepoint; Shelby Swango, Parsons Brinckerhoff; Sen. Donnelly; Beth Bauer, ACEC/Indiana; Patrick Long, American Concrete Pavement Association; Tracy Hall; Joe Zwierzynski, DLZ Indiana; Bill Hall, United Consultants; Hans Peterson, Clark Dietz; and Mike Cline, Beam Longest & Neff.
Hundreds of ACEC members "stormed" Capitol Hill last week to build support for restoring solvency to the Highway Trust Fund, passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and tax issues important to the industry.
With the Highway Trust Fund in jeopardy, ACEC members found lawmakers receptive to finding a solution. “There was definitely a different attitude on Capitol Hill this year,” said Phil Houser, principal of Farnsworth Group in Bloomington, Ill. “Lawmakers understand the problem facing the federal transportation program, and agree that a solution to head off a shutdown needs to happen soon.”
Lawmakers also reiterated their strong support for WRDA. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) told attendees that a vote on the final package could occur shortly.
ACEC members lobbied against a number of proposed tax code changes, including limitations on the use of cash accounting and increases in taxes on subchapter S corporations. Lawmakers in the House and Senate offered to work with the Council to address these issues.