Author: agcnews

On March 22, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to become the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor by a bipartisan final vote of 68-29. Mayor Walsh has a long history with the construction industry, as he is the former head of the Boston Building Trades Council and began his career with a local Boston Laborers’ union. President Biden campaigned on a robust and aggressive labor agenda that included providing greater rights to organizing and unions. Walsh will now be responsible for implementing much of that agenda. For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at…

On March 16, bipartisan members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the AGC- supported Water Quality Protection and Jobs Creation Act of 2021 (HR 1915). The bill would substantially increase federal funding assistance available to states and localities through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The legislation addresses America’s crumbling wastewater infrastructure and water quality challenges. It authorizes $50 billion in direct infrastructure investment and will create tens of thousands of utility infrastructure construction jobs. The legislation addresses wastewater infrastructure resiliency, energy and water efficiency, treatment plant long-term operation and maintenance costs, American-made iron and steel requirements,…

Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka that the PRO Act would receive a vote in the U.S. Senate if 50 senators pledge to support it.  Currently, 45 Democratic senators have pledged their support for the PRO Act. The only Democratic senators to not yet lend their names to the PRO Act are Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Krysten Sinema (Ariz.), and Mark Warner (Va.); Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) who caucuses with the Democrats is also on this list. Reading between the lines, Sen. Schumer is letting Mr. Trumka know that he will need to pressure these senators into joining their…

On March 25, the Senate is expected to pass the AGC-supported Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension Act that would extend the deadline for taking out a PPP loan through June 30, 2021. Importantly, while the legislation extends the deadline for loan approval through June 30, borrowers’ applications must be submitted to their lenders by May 31. The House previously passed the bill, and President Biden is expected to sign it if and when it reaches his desk. Without congressional action, the program’s authorization will expire on March 31, 2021. The extension will give construction firms more time to apply for…

AGC and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) have agreed to formal discussions of a potential settlement of the lawsuit that AGC has brought against the Loan Necessity Questionnaire still burdening all applicants for forgiveness Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of over $2 million. AGC has not, however, relinquished any of its rights to litigate the matter if negotiations do not bear fruit. In the meantime, AGC recently learned that a construction contractor among the association’s members has won forgiveness of a PPP a loan over $2 million. AGC is pleased by the news and hopes that it means SBA is preparing to quickly…

On March 22, the United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to become the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor by a bipartisan final vote of 68-29. Walsh has a long history with the construction industry. He is the former head of the Boston Building Trades Council and began his career with a local Boston Laborers’ union. President Biden campaigned on a robust and aggressive labor agenda that included providing greater rights to organizing and unions. Walsh will now be responsible for implementing much of that agenda. AGC looks forward to advancing the industry’s…

Construction employment decreased from January 2020 to January 2021 in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today, as project cancellations and a lack of new orders have forced firms to reduce their headcount, the association’s latest contractor survey shows. Association officials said more layoffs are likely for the industry amid spiking materials prices and uncertain demand for new projects. “More contractors are telling us they are cutting headcount than adding workers, which is consistent with the new data showing the industry is shrinking in many parts of…

On March 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the AGC-supported American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (H.R. 6). This measure seeks to take a first step in reforming our nation’s immigration system by protecting the legal status of work authorized-Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. Despite today’s outcome, the bill faces an uphill fate in the Senate without a significant breakthrough. There are more than 100,000 construction workers estimated with DACA or TPS status who currently face an uncertain legal future. Both programs were under assault during the Trump Administration and continue…

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act provides $219.8 billion to state and territorial governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the pandemic. Included at the last minute, however, is a clause that prohibits any state or territory receiving the aid “to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in the net tax revenue of such State or territory.” AGC is very concerned about the effects of this provision, including the impact on states taking actions to conform their state tax treatment of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness to the federal tax code. This broad restriction applies to…

Fearing Republican and moderate Democratic senators will move to block the passage of the PRO Act after the House of Representatives passed the bill, the AFL-CIO executive council unanimously called on the Senate to gut the filibuster. In its statement, the council said, “Senate rules cannot be used to block a workers first agenda,” and “[i]t is an agenda that cannot be delayed or denied.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka said, “The PRO Act is our litmus test. It has to get done.” The negative impacts, however, of PRO Act enactment on the construction industry—union and open-shop—workers and economic recovery would be…