News

Report, Titled “AGC for All” Catalogues Association’s Accomplishments During the Past Year

Construction Firms Have Mixed Outlook For 2024 As Expectations For Demand Remain Mostly Positive, But Less Upbeat Than Last Year Amid New Challenges

Help Us Generate a Comprehensive Outlook for 2024 by Taking the Survey Each year around this time, AGC asks you – our members – to predict what next year will be like for your business. AGC has partnered with Sage to prepare questions that focus on expectations for market performance, hiring, labor market conditions, etc. Please take a moment to complete the survey here. AGC of America will use the survey results to help make the case with elected and appointed officials in support of key member priorities. The more people who complete the survey by Thursday, December 7, the more effective the results will be in supporting our work on your behalf.

AGC’s volunteers are valued members who work to address industry issues, exchange ideas, and lead change to advance the industry. You and your colleagues are invited to take the next step in your AGC journey and join the volunteer pool. Complete or update the volunteer tab in your member profile by October 1 to let us know what volunteer opportunities you are interested in. Beginning in 2024, there are both longer-term committee volunteer positions and shorter-term volunteer opportunities available. Make the time commitment that works for you.

Before the Congress left for their August recess, House lawmakers passed its first appropriations bill of twelve total that funds the federal government. The House passed (219 – 211) the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, H.R. 4366. The bill provides $17.47 billion for military construction and $1.6 billion for major and minor VA construction. Meanwhile, the Senate has finished voting the bills out of committee but has yet to pass any appropriations bills on the floor. The Senate is considered more bipartisan in spending levels and policies. Lawmakers will need to pass all twelve appropriations bills by September 30th, or else pass a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that buys time. Given the short amount of time left, Congress will end up needing to pass one or more continuing resolutions.

On July 13, the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing to discuss the recent government report that found high vacancy rates in 23 federal agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. Representatives from the General Services Administration and General Accountability Office, the agency responsible for the report, testified at the hearing. The GAO report found that 17 of 24 agencies surveyed, using keycard entrance among other metrics, averaged 25% or less occupancy in their headquarters building capacity. The hearing discussed the challenges and future needs of federal agencies as telework becomes increasingly permanent. Some solutions presented at the hearing were real property disposal and consolidation where multiple agencies are headquartered out of a single building.