Author: agcnews
On October 28, AGC along with others called on Congress to extend the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) through the end of the year. Earlier this year, the ERTC was extended through December 2021. However, the bipartisan infrastructure bill moved the expiration date of the credit forward to September 30, 2021. Because the House of Representatives failed to pass this bill in a timely manner, if the bill were to pass today some employers who claim the ERTC in the fourth quarter would face a retroactive tax increase. This outcome was never anticipated and could have a significant adverse impact on construction firms that are, by definition,…
On October 27, Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) introduced the AGC-backed legislation that would make several categories of infrastructure investments—including transportation projects—and disaster relief explicitly eligible for unspent COVID-19 relief dollars, eliminating ambiguity as to whether such projects could receive these funds. This legislation, led by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), passed the Senate on October 19.
On October 20, the Federal Highway Administration released fiscal year end estimates on the Highway Trust Fund balance. Here are the fast facts: The House MUST immediately pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to provide long-term funding stability to the highway trust fund, state owners, and the transportation construction industry. The extension of current law that was passed on October 2 expires on October 31. Continuing to hold out on passing this bill and will jeopardize funding stability and construction careers.
Only 14 states and the District of Columbia have added construction jobs since just before the start of the pandemic in February 2020, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that widespread supply chain disruptions amid and the lack of a much-needed federal infrastructure bill have impeded the sector’s recovery. “Construction employment remains below pre-pandemic levels in more than two-thirds of the states,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Supply problems have slowed down many projects and forced contractors to hold down employment, while the lack of…
Building Inclusive Cultures & Company SuccessAlthough inclusive cultures offer clear benefits, companies still struggle with knowing how to cultivate the right culture for all their employees. On this episode, Mark Havens talks about how his organization WMFDP | FDP Global (White Men As Full Diversity Partners) transforms mindsets and behaviors to help organizations sustain truly inclusive cultures. We also talk with President & CEO of Clark Construction Company Sam Clark on how he learned the skills needed to build strong relationships, navigate difficult conversations and become an ally. AGC’s Brynn Huenke shares what AGC is doing to provide companies with…
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) Joins AGC for Tour On October 18, Alabama AGC and AGC of America, working with Rabren General Contractors and Auburn University, led Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) on a tour of the Auburn University Football Performance Center construction project. The $92 million project will construct a 233,400 square foot overall facility and is the largest athletics project in the university’s history. The project tour provided AGC with an opportunity to discuss with Rep. Rogers the benefits of infrastructure investment as well as the many challenges facing the construction industry, including the rising cost of construction materials. AGC…
AGC Helps Construction Firms Break It Down There’s a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan (physical) infrastructure bill—entitled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—and the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill, also known as the “budget reconciliation bill” or Build Back Better Act. Understanding that you’re busy building America, AGC of America has read through the thousands of pages of legislative text and broken down the bills’ pros and cons from the perspective of the construction industry. For a quick breakdown of the AGC-supported $1.2 trillion bipartisan (physical) infrastructure bill, click HERE, and for…
On October 21, the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) began a 13-state ad campaign targeting six House Democrats and nine House Republicans to press for passage of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan (physical) infrastructure bill, formally entitled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bill includes a five-year surface transportation reauthorization with record levels of investment for transportation construction, including more than $350 billion for roads and bridges. For more information on this ad campaign, click HERE. For more information, contact Alex Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org.
On October 19, AGC met with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to share a host of concerns about the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) draft emergency temporary standard (ETS). OSHA sent the draft ETS—the details of which remain unknown—to OMB for review on October 12, a signal that a final ETS could be issued within a matter of days or weeks. The OSHA ETS will require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested for infection on at least a weekly basis. It should be noted, however,…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (federal OSHA) has reportedly threatened to repeal several states’—Arizona, South Carolina and Utah—state OSHA plans because they have not adopted federal OSHA’s COVID-19 healthcare emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued on June 17. State plans are federal OSHA-approved workplace safety and health programs operated by individual states or U.S. territories. There are currently 22 state plans covering both private sector and state and local government workers. When federal OSHA issues a new standard, state plans usually have six months to adopt the new standard. State plans, however, have only 30 days to adopt an ETS. This situation between…