Author: agcnews
Another round of steep price increases and supply-chain disruptions are wreaking hardships on contractors, driving up construction costs and slowing projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. The data comes a day after the association released a new survey showing materials delays and price increases are affecting most contractors. Association officials urged the Biden administration to end a range of trade tariffs in place, including for Canadian lumber, that are contributing to the price increases, and to help uncork supply-chain bottlenecks. “Both today’s producer price index report and our survey results show escalating materials…
In January, President Biden signed executive orders specifically charging federal agencies to focus on environmental regulations, climate change, and environmental justice. In the intervening weeks, the agencies have begun implementing those directives. We are seeing incremental steps taken as the nominees to head these agencies move through the confirmation process. The Senate just confirmed Michael Regan’s appointment to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and hearings for other nominees have recently happened or are being scheduled. Agency activity is expected to increase as more appointed officials take the lead. President Biden ordered a regulatory review from the prior four years to identify where…
In accordance with the Biden administration’s recent regulatory freeze memorandum, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued proposals to roll back two of the Trump administration’s rulemakings. One DOL proposal is to withdraw a final rule clarifying the standard for employee versus independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The previous final rule originally was to be effective on March 8, 2021, however, a recent proposal delayed that date to allow the agency “the opportunity to review and consider the questions of law, policy, and fact raised by the rule[s].” The second DOL proposal is to rescind a Trump administration rule…
CARES Act Section 3610 Extended to September 30, 2021 AGC, along with a coalition of associations, urged Congress to extend the authority granted in Section 3610 of the CARES Act. The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner (VA) and Marco Rubio (FL), passed overwhelmingly (93-6) in the Senate and was included in the final version of the $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill. Section 3610 allows federal agencies to pay federal contractors to allow agencies to cover certain costs for contractors who cannot telework due to closure of government facilities. This authority was due to expire at the end of this month, but now extends these…
The Congress-passed $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill contains multiemployer pension plan provisions of interest to contributing construction contractors including specific COVID related provisions and funding relief for eligible plans. The COVID related pension provisions are intended to provide plans relief to plans that were impacted by COVID with investment losses or contribution losses. Meanwhile the bill provides significant multiemployer pension relief through a Special Financial Assistance Program by providing a one-time lump sum payment to eligible plans to pay all benefits through 2051 (30 years) with no expectation of repayment. It is estimated there are about 100 critical and declining plans,…
The $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill passed by Congress contains positive and negative tax provisions for the construction industry. On the positive side, the legislation builds on the expansion of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) that was included in the end of year COVID-relief legislation, by extending the expanded credit through the end of 2021. This expanded credit provides employers with a tax credit equal to 70 percent of an employee’s wages, up to $10,000 per employee per quarter (or $7,000). The end of year relief package allowed employers to claim this credit through the end of June 2021, and ARPA extended this…
$250,000 Construction Advocacy Fund Campaign Helped Keep Vote Close While the House of Representatives’ passage of the PRO Act was disappointing, AGC’s efforts had an impact. Following the bill’s introduction and scheduled vote, AGC launched national action alert campaigns that asked construction professionals to voice their opposition. Nearly 7,000 construction professionals took action on these alerts. Even more impressive, over 30,000 messages were sent to members of Congress and President Biden! In addition to mobilizing the membership, the association’s Construction Advocacy Fund financed a $250,000, multi-faceted digital advocacy and public relations campaign targeting constituents in 10 congressional districts represented by undecided representatives. Our digital ads served…
One year after the pandemic struck, construction firms are experiencing soaring materials costs, widespread supply-chain problems, and continuing project deferrals and cancellations, according to a new survey that the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials urged Congress and the Biden administration to take steps to eliminate tariffs on key materials, address shipping backups and boost funding for new infrastructure to help the industry recovery. “The survey results make it clear that the construction industry faces a variety of challenges that threaten to leave many firms and workers behind, even as some parts of the economy are recovering or even…
House Democrats unveiled their long-awaited plan to revive earmarks – or “congressionally directed spending” as they are rebranded. The plan would allow members of Congress to direct money in the annual spending bills that would benefit specific projects in their district. The ban on this practice had resulted in this spending authority being ceded to the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) through discretionary grants. Following that announcement, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio noted that earmarks would be included in the upcoming surface transportation bill and that additional details would be coming later this month. The Senate…
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives today of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act: “House Democrats today voted in favor of idling workers, stripping their privacy, and denying them the opportunity to establish their own businesses. The PRO Act, which passed largely along partisan lines tonight, includes a host of measures that are anti-worker, anti-privacy, and anti-recovery. The measure, for example, will deny workers the absolute right to a private union election ballot. It also…