Final Vote Could be as Early as Today
At press time, the U.S. Senate was continuing to debate it's more than $900 billion version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. There are numerous amendments being debated, including one from a bipartisan group of Senators who are working with the Obama Administration to craft a compromise that would eliminate more than $50 billion in "wasteful" spending proposed in the bill. A final vote on the legislation could come as early as today. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its $819 billion version by a vote of 244 to 188 on January 28. The House and Senate must still negotiate a final package and pass it before presenting it to the President for his signature.
While differing from the House version in cost, the Senate version is largely similar in the spending and tax provision it proposes. Both bills, for example, recommend over $150 billion in federal construction spending and authorize nearly $50 billion in new and existing bonds to finance infrastructure projects.
AGC strongly urges you to reach out to your employees, suppliers, subcontractors, and state and local community leaders to ask them to use the tools on the AGC website to contact their Senators and Representatives. Urge your members of Congress and Senators to add additional infrastructure investment to the bill. For more information on the economic stimulus proposals and to contact Congress, visit www.agc.org/stimulus.
Highlights of the Senate Stimulus Package:
- Building Infrastructure Funding: Over $58 billion for building infrastructure repair, renovation, and construction, including $9.3 billion for the General Services Administration; $6.3 billion for Military Construction; $3.4 billion for Veterans Affairs construction; and $20 billion for public school and higher education construction.
- Funding for Water, Highway and Transportation Infrastructure
- Davis-Bacon Requirements: Any projects funded directly or assisted in whole or in part by and through the federal government will have Davis-Bacon wage requirements. In addition, the bill calls for the application of Davis-Bacon to any projects funded by tax bonds.
- Buy American: The bill mandates that iron, steel and manufactured goods used in the construction and repair projects funded under the bill be produced in the United States. The provision "shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements."
- Federal Contracting Requirements: The House bill would apply the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to contracts awarded with stimulus funds where pre-existing contracting regulations do not exist. The Senate bill does not contain a similar provision.
- E-Verify: The House bill contains language that would make any contractor who receives funds through the stimulus to use the E-Verify electronic verification system. The Senate bill does not have this provision, although an amendment could be offered that would make the same requirement.
- Tax Provisions: One-year deferral of the 3 percent withholding tax on government contractors; a 5-year carryback of net operating losses; extension of small business expensing and 50 percent bonus depreciation; a tax credit bond option for states and local governments; extension and increase in unemployment benefits; temporary suspension of taxation on unemployment benefits.