Vic Weston, President of Tri-State Road Boring, Inc. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD and Independent Agencies concerning the need to provide stable annual funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Mr. Weston informed the committee members of the extensive needs facing our nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Referencing a recent Rebuild America Coalition study, Mr. Weston demonstrated the broad-based support the programs have from the American people. The appropriations mark-ups will begin next month.

Democrats’ health plan could raise premiums by 6.1%: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week announced that health care legislation (S. 6) proposed by Senate Democrats could increase employer-sponsored health insurance premiums by 6.1%. In making this announcement, CBO also stated that S. 6, known as the Patients’ Bill of Rights, "would impose new requirements on the structure and operation of group health plans" and "would establish several private-sector mandates." The CBO analysis of this bill also predicted that employers would deflect premium increases by dropping health insurance entirely, reducing benefits, increasing cost-sharing with beneficiaries, or lowering wages. The lower wages, CBO predicts, would in turn reduce federal receipts from income and payroll taxes by $9.2 billion over five years and roughly $26 billion over ten years. The Patients’ Bill of Rights continues to receive strong support from President Clinton and Congressional Democrats, but it is strongly opposed by AGC. The CBO, established in 1974, serves to provide Congress with objective, nonpartisan analyses needed for fiscal policy decisions.