Dec. 18 is the deadline for motor carriers to comply with a U.S. Department of Transportation mandate to install and use electronic logging devices on trucks to record drivers’ hours of service. The Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) issued the mandate for all motor carriers required to maintain Records of Duty Status (RODS) for Hours of Service (HOS) compliance. AGC has sought an exemption from this requirement for construction industry truck drivers but that request has not been accepted.
Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has introduced legislation to delay the mandate for two years. AGC is supporting this legislation in the hope that the delay will allow the necessary time to make the case with FMCSA that this requirement is unnecessary for construction. Contact your representative and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 3282 and delay this mandate.
For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected] or (703) 837-5319.

This week President Trump announced his support for a major shift in national immigration policy. Trump teamed with Senators David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in support of legislation – the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act – that would impose a merit-based immigration system and would curtail the family- and humanitarian-based options for entry into the country. The goal of the proposal would be to limit legal immigration, which hovers around 1 million entrants every year by half, and it would also rescind the diversity lottery as well as cap annual refugee admittances.
The legislation is a stark contrast to the bipartisan legislative attempt in 2013 by the “Gang of Eight,” which AGC largely supported. The RAISE Act is expected to face fierce opposition in Congress as it fails to address the undocumented individuals already in the country, a sticking point for any democrat support.
While AGC supports a merit-based immigration system, AGC is concerned that the legislation could fail to deliver the type and number of workers needed for industries like construction, which is currently facing a widespread domestic worker shortage. AGC is also concerned that the legislation fails to address the undocumented individuals already in the country.
AGC looks forward to working with Congress on an immigration package that fully addresses the broken immigration system by strengthening national security, functions efficiently and fairly, and addresses future workforce needs. AGC also looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration on job training and education proposals that will ensure Americans have the skills necessary for careers in the construction industry.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

This week, AGC submitted comments in response to a letter sent by Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, soliciting input from stakeholders on tax reform.  The deadline for submissions was Monday, July 17. AGC’s comments called for tax reform that lowers the rates for all businesses, corporate and pass-through alike. The comments also called for repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), increasing the threshold at which the percentage-of-completion method of accounting is required and raising the exemption level for long-term contracting rules.  AGC also called on Congress to use the opportunity presented by comprehensive tax reform to invest in the nation’s infrastructure and shore up the Highway Trust Fund.
According to Capitol Hill publications, the email inbox set up by the Finance Committee to receive comments was flooded with “hundreds of thousands of submissions.”  While most of these submissions were form letters generated by a group called Americans for Tax Fairness, opposing lower taxes on “millionaires and wealthy corporations,” many other submissions were from traditional stakeholders, like AGC. According the Senate Finance Committee “each submission will be considered as the committee moves forward with its current tax reform efforts.” AGC will continue to monitor the committee’s progress on tax reform.
For more information, contact Matt Turkstra at [email protected] or (202) 547-4733.