Tell Congress to Invest in Infrastructure NOW
Congress will commence work on infrastructure legislation in early March, as the Senate and House have set hearings on the president’s infrastructure plan. And, as a part of the recent bipartisan budget agreement, lawmakers are considering spending $20 billion over the remainder of fiscal year 2018 and through fiscal year 2019. As such, it is critical that the construction industry lets Congress know that the time for infrastructure investment is now. Contact your U.S. representative and U.S. senators right now so that they understand that investing in and improving our nation’s infrastructure helps our nation prosper.
For more information, contact Jimmy Christianson at [email protected] or (703) 837-5325.

Early Bird Discount Ends Soon 
Register today for the 2018 AGC Federal Contractors Conference. This discount offer ends Feb. 19 and space is limited. The Federal Contractors Conference is the premier conference for federal construction contractors to discuss the latest projects, policies and contracting issues facing the industry with federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facility Engineering Command, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, General Services Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of State, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Bureau of Reclamation.
In addition to substantive discussions and presentations with federal agencies, attendees will hear from legal experts about the latest federal regulations that will impact their businesses and may have the opportunity to continue a dialogue with federal agencies after the conference. Leading federal construction attorneys will address executive orders, Small Business Administration and Federal Acquisition Regulation rules, and case law trends your company needs to know to work in the federal market. And, when the conference concludes, AGC member attendees will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing dialogue and meetings with agency headquarters later in the year.
For more information and to register, go to http://meetings.agc.org/fedcon/registration/.

On Feb. 15, President Trump held a bipartisan White House roundtable on the national security threat posed by steel and aluminum imports. Republican lawmakers in attendance largely urged the president to proceed cautiously and pursue tightly targeted actions, fearful that broad tariffs could upset the economy and provoke retaliation by China as well as our traditional trade allies. President Trump has until mid-April to determine whether he will raise tariffs on the construction materials.
For more information, contact Collin Janich at [email protected] or (703) 837-5435

This week, Representatives Phil Roe (R-TN) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) introduced the AGC-supported Giving Retirement Options to Workers Act (GROW Act) in Congress (H.R. 4997), a bipartisan bill that would authorize the adoption of composite plans and strengthen the multiemployer pension system.
Jointly developed and supported by employer and labor organizations, the composite plan is a hybrid of a defined contribution and a defined benefit plan, in that it shares risk, provides lifetime income to participants, and limits employer obligations to negotiated contributions. H.R. 4997 is a separate initiative from efforts to address the funding challenges of the PBGC and critically funded plans. AGC is encouraged by the bipartisan bill and will be calling for its swift consideration and enactment alongside our labor partners.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

This week, AGC joined a coalition effort to clear up confusion surrounding the many legislative definitions for “joint employer” in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Late last year, the House approved AGC-backed legislation that restores the joint employer standard that existed prior to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) 2015 Browning-Ferris Industries decision. That decision broadened the definition of joint employer from those that share direct control over terms and conditions of employment to those with indirect control.
Since that time, the NLRB restored the “direct and immediate control” standard for joint employment in a December decision, and under the FLSA there are as many as eight different federal circuit court definitions of “joint employment.” The Supreme Court recently decline to hear a case that would have paved the way for a judicial solution. AGC is urging Congress to enact a permanent solution that locks in a sensible definition for “joint employer.”
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

This week, President Trump released his budget request covering fiscal year 2019.  The proposal, “An American Budget” calls for $4.4 trillion in federal spending in FY 2019, and while offset by $3.4 trillion in tax and other revenue sources, most estimates project the budget will tack on $1 trillion to the national debt. The budget adheres to the status quo, except for $44 billion for the proposed infrastructure initiative. A full analysis of the FY 2019 budget for federal construction accounts can be found here.
Traditionally, administration budget submissions have been largely perceived as messaging documents that outline the president’s priorities while priming the budget and appropriations process for the coming year.  This year, the administration’s budget is even less relevant, because last week Congress passed—and President Trump signed—a two-year budget agreement that set spending levels for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.  Despite this, the budget does include details on how the administration plans to annually spend the $200 billion identified for their infrastructure plan over the next 10 years. The budget, however, does not indicate how the government will fund the needed $200 billion.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8892.

When Congressional leaders struck their bipartisan budget agreement last week, they included an AGC-supported provision extending an energy efficiency tax deduction for commercial buildings, commonly known as 179D. One of many provisions known as the “tax extenders,” the deduction expired on December 31, 2016, but was retroactively extended through December 31, 2017.
Shortly after the agreement, Kevin Brady, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced that he intends to hold hearings over the next year to closely examine these tax extenders, with the goal of narrowing or modifying them in a post-tax reform world. We will closely monitor the Committee’s oversight action over the coming year.
For more information, contact Matt Turkstra at [email protected] or (202) 547-4733.

Tell Congress to Invest in Infrastructure NOW
AGC applauded President Trump for releasing his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan on Feb. 12 and backs his reported endorsement of a 25 cent federal gas tax increase to help make the Highway Trust Fund solvent.  We link here to one-page summaries of the administration’s infrastructure funding, environmental streamlining and workforce development proposals. With action on an infrastructure bill moving to Congress, it is critical that the construction industry lets Congress know that the time for infrastructure investment is now. Contact your U.S. representative and U.S. senators right now so that they understand that investing in and improving our nation’s infrastructure helps America prosper.
It has also been widely reported that the president—at a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Feb. 14—endorsed a 25 cent gas tax increase, which would raise $394 billion for the Highway Trust Fund. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce—with AGC’s support—put forth such a gas tax increase proposal in January.
Action now turns to Congress, where committees in the House and Senate will commence hearings on the president’s plan in early March. Given election year realities and Congress’s knack for only passing major legislation when it must, AGC is eyeing March 23—when government funding runs out, again—and the ensuing government funding bill as a prime vehicle for moving the construction industry’s infrastructure priorities.
For more information, contact Jimmy Christianson at [email protected] or (703) 837-5325. 

The long-awaited infrastructure proposal – first mentioned by President Trump during his election campaign – is expected to be unveiled on Feb. 12. Originally saying his plan would generate $1 trillion in infrastructure investments, President Trump upped the ante during his Jan. 30 State of the Union address, increasing the target to $1.5 trillion. AGC looks forward to working with Congress and the Administration on enacting long-term infrastructure funding solutions and environmental review and permit streamlining reforms in a significant infrastructure bill this year.
At this point, it is widely reported that $200 billion in federal funds and loans will be made available with the intention of leveraging that amount to reach the $1.5 trillion goal. A variety of infrastructure categories will be addressed including roads, bridges, airports, water and wastewater, water navigation, energy and others. A significant portion of the federal dollars will be used as an incentive for new state, local and private sector investments in infrastructure. While public-private partnerships will be part of the plan, it will not be the primary focus. Significant portions of the funding will be directed at projects in rural areas and another portion will be aimed at “transformative” projects. Existing federal credit programs such as TIFIA and WIFIA will receive additional resources to encourage innovative financing solutions. The Highway Trust Fund’s chronic revenue shortfall and shortages in other existing infrastructure funds are not expected to be addressed.
Regulatory reform – particularly streamlining the environmental review and permitting requirements – will also be a priority. The president has said he would like to see infrastructure projects approved within two years as opposed to the current ten year timeframe.
Some unanswered questions about the proposal that will hopefully be clarified in Monday’s rollout include where the federal funds will come from and how those funds will be distributed amongst the various federal agencies that manage the different infrastructure programs.
For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected].

This week AGC joined other national construction trade associations in expressing support for broad, bipartisan immigration reform and identifying policies that we believe would help address the workforce needs of construction industry employers. This collaborative construction industry action comes on the heels of a renewed interest in the immigration reform debate and growing domestic workforce shortages.
The policies agreed to by the construction industry include support for a guest worker program for construction; creating a fair and efficient employment verification system; addressing the undocumented population with an earned path toward legal permanent status or citizenship, especially Dreamers; extending TPS status for deserving nations; and protecting construction contractors from discrimination or retaliation for border wall construction.
AGC also joined a broad coalition of organizations late last week in urging Congress relief for H-2B visas, where demand for these visas exceeds availability annually. The H-2B program is essential to employers who cannot find local temporary workers to fill less skilled positions. Despite the limited applicability for this industry, it remains one of the only legal immigration visas eligible for construction workers.
For more information contact Jim Young at [email protected].