News

House to Vote on Stimulus Package

Building Contractors - Make Your Voices Heard Last week the House Appropriations Committee and House Ways and Means Committee approved their portions of the $825 billion economic recovery bill, clearing the measure for full House consideration.  The full House is expected to vote on final passage tomorrow (Jan. 28). The Senate Finance Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee both released details of their respective stimulus packages late last week.  Both committees held hearings on their packages today, and the Senate is looking for possible floor consideration of the complete stimulus package next week.  Both the House and Senate are working to complete the legislation and send it to President Obama by February 13, 2009. What's in the Stimulus Package for Building Contractors? AGC has prepared summary charts of the infrastructure investment (House only) and tax provisions in the current economic stimulus proposals. Out of the nearly $150 billion for infrastructure that AGC has identified in the House legislation, more than $54 billion is for building infrastructure.  This includes funding for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), military construction, Veterans Affairs, school construction (K-12 and higher education), housing facilities, and other building facilities such as community health centers and public lands and parks. The tax proposals include numerous provisions that would be beneficial to building contractors.  In both the House and Senate proposals these include: bonus depreciation, 5-year carry-back of net operating losses, and extension of increased small business expensing.  Also, the House proposal includes a permanent repeal of the 3% withholding tax on government contractors, while the Senate proposal includes a one-year deferral of the 3% withholding until 2012.    How Can Building Contractors Make Their Voices Heard? Click here to write your member of Congress today and ask him/her to support infrastructure investment in the economic stimulus package. Go to www.agc.org/letsbuild to sign AGC's petition to show your support of the economic stimulus package.  To date, AGC has generated over 11,000 letters and petitioners. Be informed!  Check out AGC's recently updated web page - Rebuild America's Future.  Here you will find information about how to get involved, view recent news from AGC and media outreach initiatives, and have access to AGC's letters to Congress and testimony aimed at educating Congress on the need for infrastructure funding to stimulate the economy and create jobs.  Visit the website here. Get your colleagues, employees, subcontractors, and suppliers involved in these grassroots efforts!