Author: agcnews
On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, a $715 billion federal investment in America’s roads, bridges, transit, passenger rail, and drinking and wastewater infrastructure. AGC lobbied against several of the policies included in the bill. However, its passage in the House is a first step towards enacting record levels of federal investment in infrastructure. It continues to remain unclear how this legislation will intersect with larger infrastructure package negotiations between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators. The AGC summary of the INVEST in America Act can be viewed here.…
Construction Officials Urge Federal Officials to Allow Unemployment Supplements to Expire, Take Steps to address Supply-Chain Backups and Remove Tariffs on Key Materials so Firms can Perform More Work Overall construction spending declined in May compared to the prior month, driven by continued drops in non-residential construction activity as firms struggle with supply chain disruptions, rising materials prices and labor shortages, according to an analysis of new federal construction spending data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Officials with the association called on the Biden administration to remove tariffs on key construction materials, allow unemployment supplements that are keeping…
We’re all eager to get back to in-person conferences, but you won’t want to miss the exceptional lineup of environmental sessions we’ve assembled for 2021’s Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Virtual Conference on July 20-22. That’s why we’ve slashed the price for this year’s virtual conference and made it free to all AGC members. Participate at your own pace and learn about climate, community, corporate transparency, species, and water issues. With your membership, you will gain access to three days worth of sessions highlighting the most critical safety, health and environmental compliance and risk issues impacting the business of construction. The…
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Odessa, Texas Have Worst 15-Month Construction Job Losses; Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. and Fargo, N.D.-Minn. Top Lists of Metros with Job Gains Construction employment declined in 91 metro areas and was stagnant in another 24 between February 2020, the last month before the pandemic, and May 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. They said the high number of metro areas losing construction jobs during that time frame reflected the impacts of early pandemic shutdowns and more recent challenges procuring construction materials and finding qualified workers to hire. “The devastating job losses of early 2020 and more recent materials and labor challenges since then have kept industry employment stagnant or lower this May…
Filings Now Due on August 23, 2021 The deadline to submit and certify 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data HAS BEEN CHANGED. The new filing deadline is NOW Monday, August 23, 2021. After delaying the opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collections on May 8, 2020, in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the opening of the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection on April 26, 2021. The EEO-1 is an annual survey that requires all private employers with 100 or more employees and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with…
Images readily available for editorial use showcase women and people of color in construction to increase visibility in industry media coverage The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Autodesk today launched the Construction Diversity Image Library, a collection of photographs for use by the media featuring diverse individuals in the construction workforce. The library will launch with an established collection of images and as part of the initiative, organizations from across the design, engineering and building industry are invited to contribute additional photographs. In both 2019 and 2020, the annual workforce survey conducted by the AGC and Autodesk identified a steady and unfulfilled demand…
On June 22, AGC of America’s Federal & Heavy Construction division met with the Pre-Command Course for incoming District Commanders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. AGC and the Army Corps discussed solutions to the challenges facing our nation’s infrastructure and how the Army Corps can better partner with the construction industry. AGC emphasized the strain contractors are facing with construction materials at record high prices and the continued availability challenges. AGC urged District Commanders to partner with AGC Chapters and member contractors back in their district offices, and also providing government guidance encouraging such meetings. AGC looks forward to continuing its decades…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently requested public input on company disclosure of information associated with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and climate change risks, impacts, and opportunities. In response, AGC’s June 11 letter to agency offered key principles for the SEC to consider: 1) support of voluntary and flexible, market-based disclosures; 2) adherence to the Supreme Court’s “materiality” standard and existing rules; 3) base disclosures on sound data and a workable framework for companies of different sizes and industries; and 4) set boundaries on the scope of reporting and limits on legal liability. Broadly speaking, President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14030, Climate-Related Financial…
On June 23, Democratic House Leadership announced it will attach $168 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure legislation to the $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill for a vote on the House floor the week of June 28. Combined water related elements of the bill will provide: Wastewater Infrastructure: $51.25 billion Drinking Water Infrastructure& Assistance: $117 billion For more information, contact Alex Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org or Allen Gray at allen.gray@agc.org.
On June 23, a bipartisan group of senators announced an agreement on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure framework with the White House. The framework—found here —includes $579 billion in new spending to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, improve public transit systems, invest in broadband infrastructure, and upgrade our airports. While this plan does appear to have bipartisan support, the path forward remains unclear, as Speaker Pelosi announced that she would not move similar legislation in the House until the Senate passed both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and partisan reconciliation infrastructure bill. In addition, there are a significant amount of details that have yet to be…