Author: agcnews
This week the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2025. These bills together will provide billions in funding for construction on our nation’s waterways and military bases. AGC has previously reported on developments with WRDA 2024. The bill will improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, and flood and storm protection. In addition, these projects will help ensure construction materials make it to the jobsite in a timely manner. Likewise, AGC has previously reported on developments with NDAA for FY 2025. The legislation…
The Corporate Transparency Act is a law passed in 2020 which requires “covered entities” (generally small businesses with less than 20 employees and $5 million in revenue), to file “beneficial ownership information” with an agency called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). A beneficial owner is someone who exercises “substantial control” over the entity, and the required information includes the names, addresses, and a copy of identifying documents (such as a drivers license or passport) of all the beneficial owners. The deadline to file this information was set by FinCEN for January 1, 2025 for entities that existed prior to…
Last month, AGC surveyed its members on contracts preference programs. Contracts preference programs are federal and federal-aid programs that were created with the intent to help socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. These programs include, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, 8(a) Business Development program, Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract program, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program, and HUBZone program. Some key highlights were: (1) Promotes diversity in construction, (2) Increases competitiveness for federal contractors, and (3) Access to resources and networking opportunities (1) Potential penalties for noncompliance, (2) Cumbersome certification and recertification process, and (3) Lack of transparency and guidance on program eligibility…
This week, the House of Representatives and Senate passed several long-overdue pieces of legislation relieving much of the burden of Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance for applicable businesses. AGC has advocated for employer reporting reform ever since the ACA was enacted and eagerly anticipates President Biden signing the legislation into law. The two bills that passed include: Employer reporting reform (H.R. 3801/S. 3204) provides additional time (90 days) for employers to respond to a preliminary penalty assessment under the ACA. It also provides for a six-year statute of limitations on penalty assessments, which will help ease employer record keeping. The…
On December 13, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2025. The NDAA is expected to pass the Senate next week, with the President signing it into law shortly after. Like every year, AGC urged Congress to support provisions that will positively impact the construction industry and to block those that will be harmful. Among others, AGC successfully advocated for: Of note to some AGC members, Sec. 1709 of the NDAA seeks to restrict DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics from selling new drones. Unless a national agency determines within a year that these…
Construction sector employment rose by 10,000 jobs in November with moderate increases in both residential and nonresidential jobs, according to an analysis of new government data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials noted that contractors continue to hire amid some softening in demand, a sign they expect demand to rebound again in the near future. “Job gains in both homebuilding and nonresidential building construction have slowed over the past year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But contractors have been hanging onto workers, a sign that they expect work to pick up soon.” See the…
President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would be nominating U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) as Secretary of the Department of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer was elected to Congress in 2022 and is a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. During her career she has positioned herself as an ally of workers and labor unions, including by cosponsoring the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has earned her nomination the backing of some prominent labor leaders ahead of her Senate confirmation next year. If confirmed to lead the Department of Labor, Chavez-DeRemer will play a crucial role in…
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is reinstating the Monthly Employment Utilization Report (CC-257). The CC-257 report requires businesses with a federal construction contract, subcontract, and/or federally assisted construction contract or subcontract in excess of $10,000 to provide information on employee work hours and employee counts by race/ethnicity, gender, and trade. AGC raised concerns over data privacy and undue burdens from the reinstatement of comprehensive monthly employment reports, which were discontinued since 1995. Each report must cover a full calendar month and is due by the 15th of the following month. If this date falls on a weekend…
On December 3, Congress released its compromised version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024. The bipartisan WRDA 2024 bill will help ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works Program is appropriately responsive to the water resources needs identified by local communities. Specifically, the bill authorizes 200 feasibility studies and the construction of 21 water resource projects. WRDA 2024 invests in our harbors and inland waterways, which helps to ensure construction materials make it to the jobsite in a timely manner. The water infrastructure bill permanently adjusts the inland waterways cost-share for construction and…
This week the House Steering Committee approved current House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves’ (R-Mo.) request for a waiver to retain his position leading that committee. House Republican rules only allow someone to lead a committee for three consecutive terms, which meant Congressman Sam Graves needed approval from the House Steering Committee to serve another term. AGC previously reported on this race, and others of note to the construction industry, that were being decided by the House Steering Committee. So, what is next? The House Steering Committee will now decide who should formally chair the committee, Congressman Sam…