This week, President Trump released his budget request covering fiscal year 2019. The proposal, “An American Budget” calls for $4.4 trillion in federal spending in FY 2019, and while offset by $3.4 trillion in tax and other revenue sources, most estimates project the budget will tack on $1 trillion to the national debt. The budget
Would extend 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Construction Tax Incentive As of publication, Senate is considering—and the House has yet to consider—an AGC-supported bipartisan budget bill for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 that: (1) averts arbitrary, across the board cuts to construction programs by lifting the budget caps established under sequestration; (2) provides nearly $90 billion (see chart
Status Quo Remains in Effect Implementation of the Obama administration’s 2015 “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule—which expands federal environmental permitting jurisdiction involving wetlands—has been delayed. On Jan. 31, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) took AGC-supported regulatory action that delays the 2015 WOTUS rule from taking effect
AGC joined national organizations representing the real estate, contracting and construction sectors in support of a common-sense tort reform measure that would help control costs associated with excessive liability insurance premiums for construction projects in New York State. The organizations delivered a letter to Congress supporting the “Infrastructure Expansion Act” which would address property owners’ and contractors’
AGC submitted a list of recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for inclusion in round 5 of the “Every Day Counts” initiative to accelerate transportation infrastructure construction. Among the suggestions is a list of practices that could improve work zone safety for employees and motorists, such as increased use of positive barrier, work area intrusion alarms,
House Transportation Committee Considers Environmental Streamlining On Jan. 18, AGC’s Senior Counsel on Environmental Law and Policy Leah Pilconis testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of further federal environmental review and permit streamlining measures. Among AGC’s recommendations, the association called on Congress to merge the National Environmental Policy Act review and Clean Water Act
IRS Begins Process of Administering New Law On Dec. 22, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Most of the tax reform law’s provisions went into effect on Jan. 1, creating a challenge for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury to administer the changes
On Wednesday, Congress passed comprehensive tax reform legislation that will lower rates, spur economic growth and impact your construction business for years to come. However, this process did not start as well as it ended for the construction industry (see chart for details on the final bill (see chart for details on the final bill).
A compromised version the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018(NDAA)—which would authorize nearly $700 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD)—is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law after the Thanksgiving holiday. The NDAA contains a host of AGC-backed federal construction procurement provisions important to construction contractors. Most importantly, however, is
Calls for Congressional Repeal These Agency Policies On November 15, AGC urged Congress to repeal—under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)—burdensome federal agency policies, including the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) multi-employer citation policy, the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) bid preference policy for construction project proposals including project labor agreements (PLAs), and the
