The latest: On November 19, the House of Representatives passed the multitrillion-dollar social spending bill—the Build Back Better Act. The Senate is in a position to consider the bill in December and possibly send it to the president for his signature before 2022.

What’s at stake for construction: If enacted, the Build Back Better Act would:

• Establish bankruptcy inducing fines (OSHA fines up to $700,000, among others);
• Provide record-levels of funding to federal enforcement agencies to greatly increase the number of inspectors and investigators to levy those fines;
• Tie federal tax credits for private construction development—for the first time—to new labor mandates on construction contractors;
• Create a new small business tax by expanding a 3.8% Obamacare tax to pass-through business owners who actively participate in their businesses, thereby impacting most construction firms;
• Provide $44.9 billion to the IRS for enforcement—four times its annual budget—that would lead to more audits; and
• Give even more generous tax credits—up to $12,500 per vehicle—to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) without establishing a method for these vehicles to contribute to the Highway Trust Fund, thereby continuing to give EVs a “free” ride.

For more on this bill from a construction industry perspective, click here. 

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