This week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing on long-term funding for highways and transit programs where the committee heard from the American Trucking Associations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about the need to increase the federal gas taxes in order to avoid a huge funding cliff facing the Highway Trust Fund at the expiration of the current surface transportation authorization, the FAST Act, in September 2020.
The committee also heard from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) who explained the impact funding uncertainty has on state DOTs and from a representative of the Western Road Use Charge Consortium (RUC West) about the progress that is being made on Road Use Charge or Vehicle Miles Travelled state pilot programs.  As with previous hearings on the subject of long-term funding for the Highway Trust Fund, there was universal agreement from committee members on the need to address the long-term solvency of the Trust Fund but not similar agreement on how we pay for it – specifically on increasing federal gas taxes.
As AGC continues to push for a robust infrastructure plan, fixing the Highway Trust Fund will be front and center in those efforts
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at[email protected] or (202) 547-8892

On March 6, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to present the Trump Administration’s infrastructure plan that would leverage $200 billion in federal dollars to produce $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments over ten years. The Trump proposal would create a number of new infrastructure funding categories including an incentive grant program and rural infrastructure block grant program.
Much of the questioning of the Secretary focused on where the additional revenue would come from to support the federal share. In response Chao proclaimed that, “Everything is on the table.” She was also questioned by Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and others about reports that President Trump told Congressional leaders that he would support a 25 cents per gallon increase in the federal motor fuels tax, which she did not deny but would not elaborate. Chao, however, pointed out that the President’s proposal calls for state and local governments and private sector interests to play a larger role in paying for roads, bridges and other non-transportation infrastructure. She also made the case for new initiatives to make the environmental review process work more efficiently and reduce the time it takes from ten years to two.
Chairman Shuster said that any infrastructure package must be bipartisan and that he is working with Committee Ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) in drafting legislation. He pointed out that, “Fixing the Highway Trust Fund for the future and modernizing the way we fund infrastructure in this country must be part of our solution.”
This was Secretary Chao’s second visit to Capitol Hill to present the administration’s plan. On March 1, she appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Among the statements made there was a concern that the very full congressional calendar might not allow time to fully address the proposal. However, while there were noted disagreements with some of the ideas in the president’s plan, there seemed to be general agreement on the need to address infrastructure needs.
For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected] or (703) 837-5319.

Senate Democrats Release Updated Infrastructure Proposal
This week, AGC and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) led a two-day infrastructure lobbying push on Capitol Hill attended nearly 50 meetings with House and Senate leadership and members of key congressional committees.  Dozens of organizations from diverse sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, finance, labor, retail, hospitality, construction, transportation, and state and local governments collectively called on Congress to pass a targeted, substantial investment in modernizing our nation’s infrastructure.  AGC CEO Steve Sandherr, and NAM’s President and CEO Jay Timmons amplified this message in an op-ed published in The Hill newspaper.
Now that President Trump has released his plan, Congress is beginning to hold hearings and will hopefully begin putting together a bipartisan plan of their own.  In the meantime Senate Democrats released a partisan plan that calls for paying for over $1 trillion in federal investments by scaling back tax cuts recently provided in the tax bill.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at[email protected] or (202) 547-8892.

AGC Provides Helpful Tips for Contractors
On March 8, President Trump signed proclamations to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, with limited exceptions. AGC previously urged the President to abandon the tariffs because of their negative impacts on the construction industry. AGC members are still encouraged to contact the president and their congressional representatives to stop these tariffs. In addition, AGC has provided two memos for construction contractors—one for direct federal and federally-assisted construction contracts and another for private construction contracts—as they grapple with anticipated steel and aluminum price increases.
These tariffs will have an almost immediate impact on the cost of aluminum and steel purchased for construction projects, as the construction industry consumes 43 percent of American steel according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. The proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum will also have a direct and negative impact on construction employment, putting more than 28,000 construction jobs at risk according to a recent, nonpartisan study. Alarmingly, this figure does not even account for jobs that could be impacted by affected nations’ retaliatory trade measures. AGC will continue to press the White House and Congress to stop these tariffs.
For more information, contact Collin Janich at [email protected] or (703) 837-5435.

On Feb. 16, the Commerce Department publicized its investigation into the national security threat posed by steel and aluminum imports. The report determines that the metal imports “threaten to impair the national security,” and lays out three recommendations for imposing tariffs and/or quotas on steel and aluminum imports. AGC will urge the president to consider the potential negative impact of such actions on the construction industry—which uses the materials in a broad array of project types—as he determines his response.
Commerce’s top-line recommendation is a 24 percent global tariff on all steel imports and a 7.7 percent tariff on all aluminum imports. The report also recommends that the Commerce Secretary oversee an appeals and exclusion process, whereby American companies can appeal for specific products to be excluded “if the U.S. lacks sufficient domestic capacity or for national security considerations.”
The Commerce Department’s alternative recommendations can be found here, along with the full steel and aluminum reports.
Because the investigation was carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, President Trump has the authority to act without Congressional approval. He must implement or reject the steel recommendations by April 11 and the aluminum recommendations by April 19.
For more information, contact Collin Janich at [email protected] or (703) 837-5435.

Tell Congress to Approve Composite Plans
Congress recently introduced the AGC-supported Giving Retirement Options to Workers Act (GROW Act), HR 4997.  As such, AGC urges you to support the bipartisan bill by contacting your U.S. representative and U.S. senators.  The bill would authorize the adoption of composite plans and strengthen the multiemployer pension system.
The legislation was 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.

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.