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The White House Council on Environmental Quality proposed rule ignores recent NEPA amendments included in the debt limit deal.

The House votes to repeal a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule. As a result of the rule, at least 3,000 projects already under construction will have to re-do their Endangered Species Act consultations, threatening schedules and even project feasibility.

Two Pittsburgh area �鶹��ý chapters, the Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania (MBA) and the Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania (CAWP), have teamed together to launch a new mental health initiative for the Pittsburgh area construction industry. By posing a simple question, "Yinz Good?" (Pittsburghese for "Are you okay?"), the initiative encourages individuals to engage in conversations about mental health and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health issues in the workplace.

Before the Congress left for their August recess, House lawmakers passed its first appropriations bill of twelve total that funds the federal government. The House passed (219 – 211) the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, H.R. 4366. The bill provides $17.47 billion for military construction and $1.6 billion for major and minor VA construction. Meanwhile, the Senate has finished voting the bills out of committee but has yet to pass any appropriations bills on the floor. The Senate is considered more bipartisan in spending levels and policies. Lawmakers will need to pass all twelve appropriations bills by September 30th, or else pass a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that buys time. Given the short amount of time left, Congress will end up needing to pass one or more continuing resolutions.

On July 13, the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing to discuss the recent government report that found high vacancy rates in 23 federal agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. Representatives from the General Services Administration and General Accountability Office, the agency responsible for the report, testified at the hearing. The GAO report found that 17 of 24 agencies surveyed, using keycard entrance among other metrics, averaged 25% or less occupancy in their headquarters building capacity. The hearing discussed the challenges and future needs of federal agencies as telework becomes increasingly permanent. Some solutions presented at the hearing were real property disposal and consolidation where multiple agencies are headquartered out of a single building.

Termination for cause on a construction project is the equivalent of “going nuclear.” Construction is riddled with claims and litigation, and termination for cause litigation may be the costliest.[i] Construction professionals need to be familiar with the termination clauses in their contracts. This article examines the importance of writing an effective termination for cause provision and how the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ConsensusDocs standard construction contracts differ on this issue.

Please join �鶹��ý of America on August 16, 2023, from 2:00pm ET to 3:00pm ET for a virtual townhall update on its climate change initiatives and discussion on carbon reporting and the construction industry. This virtual townhall will be open to all �鶹��ý members and chapters. There is no charge, but you must register to reserve a seat—click here.