Author: clara.kinney@agc.org

Congress continues to debate federal government spending levels ahead of the January 30th deadline when appropriations run out. With the hangover from the last government shutdown, the longest in history, still fresh on their minds, it appears to be motivation for both sides to reach across the aisle to negotiate. Recently the House passed the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy Water, and Interior three-bill appropriations package with bipartisan support. AGC supported these bills because they provide increased funding for projects on our nation’s water systems, including dredging and the construction of harbors, levees, and canals. In addition, they fund drinking and wastewater infrastructure…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Final Determination of Substantial Noncompliance against the State of California, triggering the withholding of approximately $158.3 million in federal highway funding beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2027. The withheld money amounts to four percent of California’s funding under the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG). FMCSA also noted that continued noncompliance could ultimately result in the decertification of California’s Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program under federal law, further increasing the potential consequences for the state. FMCSA made the decision after the California Department…

AGC of America leadership met with Sean McMaster, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, on Thursday, January 8, to discuss several federal policy issues impacting the construction industry. During the meeting, AGC and Administrator McMaster discussed several topics including recent updates to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and Buy America requirements. Work zone safety emerged as the primary focus of the meeting. Administrator McMaster stressed his focus on improving safety for the workers building America’s infrastructure as well as the driving public. He also emphasized the need for accurate and timely safety data to develop effective, proactive safety policy.;…

On December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. The bill is one of the few must pass bills Congress must pass every year as it funds the United States military and covers all appropriations for the Department of Defense. Congress has passed the NDAA for 64 continuous years, and AGC takes any attempt to add harmful construction policy to the bill very seriously. As AGC has previously reported, this year’s NDAA placed strong emphasis on comprehensive acquisition reform. The finalized version of the NDAA included the below AGC priorities: Additionally, an amendment…

On December 22, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a ban on the purchase of any Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, or drones) that were manufactured outside of the United States. The decision is effective immediately but does not affect any previously purchased drones. The FCC’s rule follows the passage of the American Security Drone Act of 2023 (ASDA) and OMB Memorandum M-26-02. ASDA instructed the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish a government-wide policy for the procurement of drones in the United States. The OMB Memorandum satisfied ASDA and called for federal agencies to consider…

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is using the False Claims Act (FCA) to actively investigate federal contractors to determine if they are still maintaining “illegal” diversity programs. The FCA has traditionally been used to go after companies that fraudulently bill the government for work that wasn’t done or those that improperly inflate the costs of work they did. Under the administration’s theory of the FCA, contractors who still have “illegal” DEI initiatives would be violating Executive Order (E.O.) 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (January 21, 2025), and would therefore not be…

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published the Fiscal Year 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program on Monday, December 15, 2025. Formerly known as the RAISE program, BUILD is a competitive, multimodal discretionary grant program authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and funded at $1.5 billion for FY 2026. Like past administrations, the Trump administration has laid out additional priorities that will be considered as part of their review of applications. For example, the degree to which the project will advance domestic energy, include union participation…

Part of the federal government’s efforts to combat the impacts of PFAS is the collection of information having to do with the manufacture and processing of these “forever chemicals.” Using a law called the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA requires chemical manufacturers to send in certain information about what PFAS they use and how they use it. TSCA is intended to provide EPA with the information to make smart decisions about how chemicals are used in our economy. In 2020, Congress passed a law amending TSCA that required EPA to collect certain information about PFAS from chemical manufacturers. The…

UPDATE: The SPEED Act passed the House on December 18th by a vote of 221-196. The U.S. House of Representatives is positioned to consider the AGC-supported Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, which would reform the permitting and judicial review process of projects under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). SPEED passed committee last month and is now poised to pass the full House of Representatives. As previously reported, the bill streamlines NEPA by reestablishing it as a procedural statute, codifying the Supreme Court’s Seven Counties decision into law. If enacted, the bill would affirm AGC’s permitting reform priority of…

On December 15, Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) visited the CMH NEXT New Midfield Terminal project at John Glenn Columbus International Airport alongside representatives from AGC of America, AGC of Ohio, the Ohio Contractors Association, and the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. The project is being delivered by Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in partnership with Elford Inc. and is part of the airport’s broader effort to modernize facilities and support future operations. During the visit, the project team provided an overview of the New Midfield Terminal and its role within the CMH NEXT program. Sen. Husted discussed how the changes to the…