• $30 billion for highways construction
• $9 billion for transit
• $1.1 billion for Amtrak
• $10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation, including $3 billion for NSF, $300 million for NIST, and $200 million for USGS
• $11 billion for research and development, pilot projects, and federal matching funds for the Smart Grid Investment Program
• $3 billion for the Airport Improvement Program
• $6 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
• $4.5 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• $500 million for the Bureau of Reclamation
• $900 million for Superfund and Brownfields clean-up

For a copy of the full proposal summary, visit the House Appropriations Committee website http://appropriations.house.gov/  

As the investments are made, proper attention must be paid to the prioritization and selection of these projects to ensure that the criteria are met. The following principles should guide selection decisions: The project should deliver measurable improvements in public health, safety and quality of life; the project should provide substantial, broad-based economic benefit; The project should be designed and built in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, and proper consideration must be given to life-cycle costs; and The project should have a significant environmental benefit such as area restoration, improved air quality through reduced congestion and better watershed management through eliminating vulnerabilities in a system. (Compiled from a recent American Society of Civil Engineers' newsletter.)

• Other news
• North American Occupational Safety & Health (NAOSH) Week takes place May 3-9, 2009. Occupational Safety & Health Professional's Day is May 6, 2009  

In the Safety Zone

• Feds: Crane operator in fatal accident untrained
  The man at the helm of one of the world’s largest cranes when it flipped over backward and killed him and three other workers at a Houston refinery in July had never been in the machine’s cab before and was not qualified for the job, federal regulators said. Read the full story including comments at Houston Chronicle   
  
  Synergy Conference "Reason to Attend" - Crane Safety session
  The most progressive minds in crane safety gather to discuss, debate and deliberate current industry trends, new safety and health regulatory efforts and best practices to move the industry forward. Get details at www.vppac.org/conference.
  
• Flagging Hazards
  This from Occupational Safety & Health:  Factors that cause traffic collisions include driver error, poor visibility, road surface conditions, and inadequate traffic controls. According to OSHA, 1,000 people are killed in temporary traffic control work zones around the country every year, and 90 percent of those crashes are the direct result of driver error. Read the full article.
  
  Synergy Conference "Reason to Attend"... Laborers Union out of Washington DC will be presenting a session on work zone safety at the VPPAC conference

What's Happening in Washington

• Obama rescue 101: Where it stands President-elect's plan to revive the economy is taking shape. Here's what we know so far.
  This CNNMoney.com article gives a nice summary of Obama's economic-stimulus plan. "The plan proposes four main categories of measures: Investment in infrastructure, funds to cash-strapped states, expansion of safety net programs to protect the vulnerable, and tax cuts."
• New Administration! Want to work in Washington?
  The 2008 Plum Book lists open positions and can be accessed at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/2008/index.html.

Health Matters

A new way to recognize a stroke Getting to the Heart of It JJKeller Online recently published this short article on the importance CPR in the workplace: "We often get questions on what OSHA requires with regard to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training and the workplace. This is a great question. OSHA discusses employer's responsibilities to provide medical services and first aid at 1910.151. That section is only three paragraphs long, and basically states that the employer must make available medical personnel and first aid supplies. If outside emergency responders are not immediately available, there must be employees trained to provide first aid. That's pretty much it for the regulation – which doesn't provide us the details we might like. There are individual regulations which require that your employees have CPR training, however. Those regulations are:   >1910.146 Permit-required Confined Spaces   >1910.266 Appendix B: Logging Operations First-Aid and CPR Training   >1910.269 Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution   >1910.410 Qualifications of Dive Team   >1926.950 Construction Subpart V, Power Transmission and Distribution If you must provide workplace first responders, you must ensure that they are adequately trained to treat those types of illnesses and injuries which you are likely to experience in your workplace. This could include training on CPR although it is not required. Your medical professional may offer an opinion on this matter. In a letter of interpretation 04/15/1999 – OSHA guidelines for First Aid training recommend CPR training as an element OSHA states "Although it is not an OSHA requirement that employers provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training, OSHA's "Guidelines for First Aid Training Programs" recommends that CPR training be a general program element of a first aid program." JJKeller is sponsoring the network reception at the VPPAC.org Conference on February 5 in Las Vegas. Join us!

Resources & Best Practices

• Training Resources
  Check out this list of links to valuable training resources provided by Jonathan Klane of KEITH Inc. - Klane’s Education Information Training Hub (KEITH). KEITH is a multi-service company providing training and consulting services to business, industry, government, and higher education since 1998. Learn more at www.trainerman.com
• OSHA Compliance Resources - Quarterly Update
  One of the hallmarks of the Alliance Program is the leveraging of expertise and resources to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and share information with employers and employees to help prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the workplace. Stay informed of OSHA's compliance assistance resources through this quarterly update of new OSHA compliance assistance products, including publications, eTools, Safety and Health Topics pages, and case studies and success stories. This update also includes products developed through the OSHA Alliance Program by Alliance Program participants. View the Update.
• How do you give recognition to star employees?
  Make it a family affair. This ManageSmarter article suggests that "rewarding the families of high achievers goes a long way toward job satisfaction, motivation and loyalty."
• More valuable resources at VPPAC.Org
  The VPPAC.org website is chock-full of safety and health resources and best practices. A members-only section is coming soon....join VPPAC.org and support safety excellence in construction.  

Fun & Games

• Solve a puzzle--Save $25 on the conference
  Work your brain while you save some dollars. Try our Safety Word Puzzle... it's harder than it looks! 
• Kids Poster Contest Helps Celebrate NAOSH Week 2009
  We encourage ASSE members’ children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or kids who attend chapter-sponsored schools to submit a poster for the 7th Annual ASSE Safety-on-the-Job kids’ poster contest. The contest runs until Feb. 14, 2009.

----------------------------------------------------------------