The IRS issued final regulations May 6 for the implementation of the 3% withholding law.

Construction spending slumped 0.7 percent from $798 billion in December to $792 billion in January, the second-lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since July 2000, the Associated General Contractors of America noted today in an analysis of new Census Bureau data.

In addition to meeting frequently with FASB over the past ten years on critical issues and focusing significant member and staff time recently to issues such as multi-employer disclosure and revenue recognition, AGC joined a construction industry group established to advise the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on its proposed accounting standards update on multi-employer plan disclosure.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) Tuesday filed an amendment to repeal the 3 percent withholding mandate during consideration of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Reauthorization being considered by the Senate. 

The House voted 245 to 189 this week to repeal the health care law. The vote marked the first in a series of efforts by House Republicans to honor their pledge during the campaign season to replace last year’s law.

Huge jumps in prices for diesel fuel and copper - two key inputs to construction - pinched contractors in November as weak demand for construction forced them to hold down bid prices despite the cost increases, AGC said today in an analysis of November producer price index figures.

Following two failed votes in the U.S. Senate Saturday to extend the Bush-era tax cuts only for the middle-class or those making less than $1 million a year, the White House and GOP Congressional leadership Monday struck a deal to extend current tax rates for all taxpayers for another two years with economic stimulus provisions sought by the president. 

The Washington Post quotes AGC's chief economist, Ken Simonson, as he warns that construction jobs are at risk once stimulus funding runs its course.

The Deficit Commission's decision to recommend a 15 cent increase to the federal gas tax will protect taxpayers and help cut the deficit, while providing a needed boost for U.S. businesses, shippers and consumers.

Construction contractors continue to be squeezed by rising prices for key construction materials and flat prices for what they can charge for finished projects, according to an analysis of October Producer Price Index figures released Tuesday by the Associated General Contractors of America.