Author: clara.kinney@agc.org
As Congress continues work on the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, AGC has released a new BUILD America 250 Act Scorecard to help members quickly understand how the House legislation compares to the association’s transportation priorities. The scorecard provides a simple, at-a-glance overview of the bill, highlighting where the legislation strongly aligns with AGC priorities, where it makes meaningful progress, and where additional work remains as Congress continues the reauthorization process. Among the bill’s strongest areas are the Highway Trust Fund, funding and program structure, resiliency, and public transit, while workforce, technology, work zone safety, and permitting receive partial marks…
The 2026 AASHTO-AGC-ARTBA Joint Committee regional meetings are underway, with the first meeting taking place on July 14 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) Annual Meeting. The AASHTO-AGC-ARTBA Joint Committee provides a unique forum where state DOT leaders, highway contractors, and transportation industry partners come together to discuss the challenges facing the industry. Each regional meeting centers around a series of discussion papers that encourage collaboration, identify best practices, and help develop recommendations to improve project delivery nationwide. This year’s discussion papers focus on four key topics: AGC members are encouraged to review this…
On July 13, the U.S. Department of War (DoW) announced the immediate suspension of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Phase II requirements, which were set to come into full effect on November 10, 2026. The suspension was filed in response to recent data collected by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that found that CMMC compliance burdens are forcing companies out of the Defense Industrial Base. Contractors should note that this suspension “does not eliminate the requirement for companies to protect federal data”, and contractors “remain contractually obligated to safeguard covered defense information in accordance with DFARS clause 252.204-7012.” According to the…
On July 6, the Department of War (DoW) began requiring contractors to remove all Anthropic products from their systems by September 29, 2026. The requirement stems from DoW’s efforts in April 2026 year to remove Anthropic from government systems due to national security risks. Additionally, the memorandum requires all company products and software services to remove all Anthropic software prior to September 29. As part of the directive, government contractors, suppliers and subcontractors are required to sign a Letter of Understanding (LOU) certifying that they will not use Anthropic as a partner, teammate or subcontractor on their work. Failure to…
AGC of America has joined the newly launched American Alliance for Workforce and Border Security, a coalition of national business organizations urging Congress to pair strong border security with reforms to modernize the nation’s legal immigration system. In a letter to Congress, the coalition calls for sustained border security, employment-based visa reforms that meet workforce needs across all industries, practical solutions to retain experienced workers who have contributed to the U.S. economy, and improvements to the employment eligibility verification system. The coalition’s recommendations align with AGC’s long-standing advocacy for immigration policies that strengthen border security while providing employers with the…
AGC is now accepting proposals for speaking opportunities at the 2027 Surety Bonding and Construction Risk Management Conference, taking place January 25-27, 2027, at the Sunseeker Resort on Charlotte Harbor in Southwest Florida. The conference brings together senior executives of construction companies, in-house lawyers, risk managers, sureties, bond producers, insurance carriers, brokers, construction and insurance lawyers, and other service professionals who help the industry manage risk and strengthen project outcomes. AGC is seeking one-hour breakout or general session proposals in solo, co-presented, or panel formats. Topics of interest include surety bonding trends, insurance developments and innovations, contract risk management, claims…
On July 14, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held their markup of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, passing the bill unanimously. Separately, on July 15, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held their markup of their version of the bill, passing the bill unanimously. WRDA is authorized every two years and provides critical funding for our nation’s aging water infrastructure, including inland waterways, coastal harbors and ports, locks and dams, and flood control protections. WRDA authorizes projects that will make improvements to our harbors and inland waterways which will help ensure construction materials make it to…
During the week of June 23, the Federal Procurement Policy Office released four documents into the Federal Register announcing their proposed changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). The FAR revisions are a result of President Trump’s Executive Order, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, directing sweeping changes to federal procurement. The goal of the revisions is to create a more efficient procurement system that removes undue removing undue regulatory barriers and eliminating FAR provisions not required by law or essential to sound procurement. While additional changes for all parts of the FAR are expected to be released imminently, the…
Earlier this week, the Trump administration published the 2026 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, a report that lays out each agency’s regulatory plans for the upcoming season. The Regulatory Plan is a government-wide planning document that compiles the regulatory intentions of each agency. Agencies typically provide their existing regulatory projects, intentions for new projects, and the timelines on which those projects will be completed. While the information offered is limited, the Regulatory Plan allows stakeholders like AGC to track and anticipate regulations that impact construction. Members should be aware that despite the administration’s deregulatory posture, agencies continue to…
Congress is now working through the fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations process, the annual process lawmakers use to fund federal agencies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. Each year, Congress is supposed to pass 12 appropriations bills covering different parts of the Federal Government, including transportation, defense, energy and water, homeland security, and others. So far, the House has moved faster than the Senate, with several bills advancing through committee and some reaching the House floor, but the process remains far from complete. The Senate, meanwhile, has left Washington for the July Fourth recess without advancing its first round…