On April 12, the U.S. Senate confirmed attorney Andrew Wheeler, former lobbyist and congressional aide, to serve as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s deputy administrator.  AGC had urged the Senate to confirm Mr. Wheeler’s nomination. If EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt were to leave the agency, Wheeler would be next in line to become acting administrator.
As AGC’s letter states, Mr. Wheeler is an experienced and well-qualified leader on environmental and construction matters, having served in both Congress and the Executive Branch on such issues. He understands that collaborative work between industry and government will further advance and balance environmental stewardship with economic development.
AGC looks forward to working with Mr. Wheeler on the important issue of environmental stewardship in the construction industry and continuing our positive working relationship with EPA.
For additional information, please contact Leah Pilconis at [email protected] or Melinda Tomaino at [email protected].

On April 18, AGC submitted its response to the National Labor Relations Board’s Request for Information regarding representation-case procedures.  AGC also joined a response submitted by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW).  Both responses call on the Board to rescind or modify its 2014 rule that changed the procedures for union representation elections.  The rule is often called the “quickie” or “ambush” election rule because it expedites the procedures in a way that can disadvantage employers that oppose a union organizing campaign.
CDW’s response provides in-depth arguments for rescinding or modifying the rule.  It argues that the rule focuses on speed while undermining employers’ rights, straining stakeholder resources, confusing employees, and invading employee privacy.
AGC’s independent response expresses support for CDW’s arguments and provides supplemental points of particular relevance to construction employers.  It reiterates concerns laid out in AGC’s 2014 comments to the proposed rule about how the changes would be particularly burdensome and impracticable in the construction industry given the complexity of determining unit appropriateness and voter eligibility in construction.  The response further conveys information illustrating how those concerns have been validated since the rule has taken effect.
For more information, contact Denise Gold, associate general counsel, at (703) 837-5326 or [email protected].

Room Block Expires Tomorrow, April 20
The 17th Annual Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Legislative Fly-In is scheduled for May 15-16, 2018. Book your hotel now and register for the conference, before the room rate expires tomorrow. This year's meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC.
The AGC meeting schedule is listed below. We have arranged for an informative set of speakers to get you up to speed on current Washington issues and prospects for legislative action this year.

AGC Urges Congress to Fund Program
AGC, along with a broad-based diesel coalition, urged members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to include $100 million in their fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding bill for grants, loans, and rebates made possible by the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA). In each of the past four years, Congress has provided increased funding for DERA, including $75 million in FY 2018.  AGC chapters – working with AGC of America – have won millions in federal funds to support AGC members’ voluntary “retrofit” projects, in addition to leveraging millions more in matching and in-kind contributions to help their members afford the high cost of reducing emissions from construction equipment.
AGC is focused on ensuring both the administration and Congress recognize the importance of the program and that they provide greater financial assistance to the many equipment owners who seek a fair and effective way to reduce emissions from existing fleets of off-road equipment.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8892.

AGC Continues Push for More Infrastructure Funds
Next week, the House of Representatives is set to consider the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018. As the House prepares for debate, several AGC-backed, pro-infrastructure amendments will be considered. These amendments include increasing funding for the Airport Improvement Program that helps finance runway projects among others, lifting the $4.50 cap on the Passenger Facility Charge that airports use to help fund their infrastructure projects, and creating a new category of infrastructure projects eligible to use Private Activity Bonds.  AGC will continue to work with our coalition partners to ensure these critical amendments are debated and voted on by the entire House.
The fate of the House FAA bill – which passed out of committee in June 2017 – has been unclear until recently when House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) dropped controversial language that would have transferred air traffic control services from the FAA to a non-profit corporation. Another omission from the committee-passed bill was an AGC-supported provision that would increase funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) two percent annually from its current level of $3.350 billion to $3.998 billion in fiscal year 2023.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8892.

Pondering the Proposal Process
Months of collaboration between AGC, industry partners, and GSA headquarters came to fruition this week with GSA’s Reverse Industry Training Day in Washington, D.C.  Livestreamed to agency offices across all GSA regions nationwide, the GSA Acquisition and Contracting workforce had the opportunity to attend in person or online, and submit questions in real-time.
AGC members also participated, and explaining the importance of early communication by GSA, provided further insight into the type of information the industry seeks to qualify an opportunity, as well as the value associated with certain types of GSA engagements (e.g. RFIs, one-on-ones, industry days). AGC members also spoke about how different factors might influence a decision towards either bidding or not bidding (e.g., costs of competition, risks, acquisition strategy, past acquisition practices of customer, competitive analysis, etc.).  Dan Mathews, PBS Commissioner, discussed the importance of collaborating and communicating with the construction industry. AGC frequently engages in training sessions with federal agencies and remains fully dedicated to educating federal government leaders about the construction process.
 For more information, contact Jordan Howard at [email protected] or (703) 837-5368.

This week, the U.S. Senate approved John Ring to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Ring is a former management-side labor attorney and provides the NLRB with a full complement of board members. The now 3:2 Republican majority board has important decisions ahead of them, including the possibility of revisiting the joint employer definition and the quickie election rule.
The Senate also approved Pat Pizzella for Deputy Secretary at the Department of Labor. The position is the second highest political position and is the latest high-profile administration position to receive political leadership. AGC is monitoring other agencies still lacking political leadership, including OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division. There is no timeframe for when the respective nominees may receive senate votes.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 government funding bill passed in March included language that allows the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Department of Labor to increase the number of H-2B worker visas issued. The H-2B program allows certain U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. to fill temporary (seasonal) non-agricultural jobs. In order to ensure the administration makes timely determinations and resumes visa processing, AGC has joined a broad coalition in a letter urging DHS and DOL to immediately process visas up to the full number authorized by Congress last month.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-013

Need for Congressional Action Apparent
This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week issued an update to its annual Highway Trust Fund cash flow projections. Based on revenue inflows from various excise taxes (including the motor fuels tax) versus expenditures, both the highway account and mass transit accounts should remain solvent through FY 2020, the last year of authorization under the FAST Act. The projections show, however, that both accounts have insufficient revenue to fund current levels through FY 2021.
The report also shows that $163 billion in additional revenue is needed to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through FY2028. While these projects are not surprising, it clarifies the urgent need for Congress to begin addressing the trust fund’s revenue shortfall now.
 For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected] or (703) 837-5319.

AGC Chapters Active in States
AGC’s Highway and Transportation Division Chair Ken Kubacki participated in a media event at the Jane Byrne interchange project in downtown Chicago, Illinois as part of this year’s Work Zone Awareness Week activities. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner headlined the event. AGC serves on the National Work Zone Awareness Week organizing committee which seeks to raise this issue with motorists nationwide and annually participates in the national event.
AGC chapters across the country also cooperate with their state DOT to raise awareness on the dangers that work zones can pose to both workers and drivers alike. This year many AGC chapters and member companies took part in the Orange for Safety campaign as part of the week’s activities.
To view a photo of AGC H&T Division Chair Ken Kubacki thanking Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for his work zone safety measures, click here. To view a photo of Kubacki in front of cones depicting 143 worker fatalities, click here.
For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected] or (703) 837-5319.