On September 14, the Senate rejected the Johanns Amendment to the Small Business Credit and Jobs Act that would have repealed the new Form 1099 reporting requirement enacted in the healthcare bill earlier this year. The vote on the procedural motion was 46 to 52.

The massive healthcare bill enacted in March contained a provision that requires government, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes to file Form 1099s with the IRS when goods or services purchased without a credit card from another business exceed $600 in a year. Currently, a Form 1099 filing is required only for services-not goods-provided by self-employed independent contractors.  The provision was justified as a way to identify businesses that are not reporting or underreporting income to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.  The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the provision would raise $17 billion to offset a small portion of  the healthcare bill,  but AGC members know the increase in paperwork and compliance costs will be a tremendous burden on their businesses.AGC supports full repeal of the provision rather than a modification, which is why AGC supports the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act. The House considered legislation prior to the August recess that would have repealed the provision; however, the bill ultimately failed.  The Senate is scheduled to vote on two amendments to a small business jobs bill when they return next week: one that would repeal the provision (Senator Mike Johanns), and one that would modify the provision (Senator Bill Nelson).  Because the proposed modification would not repeal the 1099 requirement, but would instead put in place new exemptions, AGC does not believe the amendment would provide adequate relief for businesses.AGC continues to request members write their Senators and Representative in support of the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act and in support of a full repeal of the burdensome 1099 reporting requirement.  For more information on the 1099 reporting requirement and to write your Members of Congress, use the AGC Legislative Action Center.

AGC, as part of the Transportation Construction Coalition and Americans for Transportation Mobility, pushed for passage of the long-delayed highway and transportation bill Wednesday in Des Moines.The groups began a new national advertising campaign to push for federal funds to fix aging roads and unsafe bridges and improve transit services in August, and unveiled new bus, radio and print advertisements in Des Moines.  The effort, which will cover dozens of states during the coming weeks, is designed to educate the public about why passing a federal transportation bill is essential to improving road conditions in states like Iowa. AGC has hosted events in South Dakota and South Carolina as well.Read the press release here. The news was covered by the Des Moines Register, as well as local television and radio stations.

At a Labor Day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Obama announced a plan to request an up-front investment of $50 billion for transportation infrastructure. While there are few specific details, AGC has learned from a senior U.S. DOT official that President Obama is committed to moving a six-year surface transportation bill in 2011.A significant portion of the $50 billion will be available in the first year for investments in highways, transit, airports and rail. It appears these funds are supplemental to funds that would already have been provided for these programs in FY 2011 (beginning October 1, 2010), but it is unclear whether these funds would move as part of reauthorization or as a separate legislative vehicle. The amount allocated to each program is also not specified.The president indicated that this increased funding will be paired with the administration's vision for reforming existing transportation programs over the next six years. It appears that the proposal will include the long awaited "principles" for reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU the administration has been expected to deliver.Additional details from the White House are available here.In response to the Obama Administration's proposal for new transportation investment, AGC noted that countless thousands of construction workers will have a better chance of retaining their jobs, but that the most effective sequel to the stimulus is passage of a fully funded six-year surface transportation bill.  AGC's reaction was covered by the LA Times, Baltimore Business Journal and Engineering News-Record.It is highly unlikely that Congress will do anything in regards to the president's request prior to the November elections. AGC will follow developments closely and provide details as they become available.

 

On Friday, August, 27, Congressman Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) toured a construction job in Honolulu, Hawaii. AGC member company Watts Constructors, LLC, hosted the Congressman at the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center Replacement project. AGC encourages members to host Members of Congress at job sites around the country to help educate them about the construction industry and to demonstrate how decisions made in Washington, D.C., affect our industry.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission upheld OSHA's multi-employer citation policy in a reversal of a decision the Commission made during the previous administration. Under the policy, OSHA inspectors may cite employers on multi-employer worksites for violations that do not expose their own workers to occupational hazards. For example, a general contractor who controls the worksite may be responsible for violations created by a subcontractor whose workers are exposed to safety or health hazards.In reaching its Aug. 19 decision, the Commission agreed with an earlier decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had rejected the Commission's previous contrary view that employers are only legally responsible for protecting the safety and health of their own workers. The case under consideration involved Summit Contractors Inc., a general contractor constructing an apartment complex in Lebanon, Pa., in 2005. An OSHA compliance officer cited Summit for a safety violation after observing workers of a subcontractor using electrical equipment that lacked ground fault circuit interrupters and had been brought onto the worksite by Summit.

The Transportation Construction Coalition and Americans for Transportation Mobility continued efforts for passage of the long-delayed highway and transit bill on Tuesday with the unveiling of new billboard and online advertisements in Columbia. Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) participated in the event and shared his support for passing a multi-year surface transportation bill. Clyburn agreed that enacting a highway and transit bill will be the best boost we can give to the economy right now.The effort, which will cover dozens of states during the coming weeks, is designed to educate the public about why passing a federal transportation bill is essential to improving road conditions in states like South Carolina.In mid-August, AGC helped launch the multi-state campaign in South Dakota, and will unveil new ads in Iowa next week.Read about the effort and take action here.The news was covered by several local television stations, including WBTV,WACH andWSAV, in addition to the Charleston Post and Courier, Columbia Business Report and Charleston Regional Business Journal, to name a few.

Once again, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initially required that a contractor submit an executed project labor agreement (PLA), this time on an Army Reserve project in Los Alamitos, California.  Over the past week, AGC members and staff made inquiries to the Louisville District Command in charge of the project, demanding justification for including a PLA mandate in a solicitation. Like previous efforts, the inquiries questioned how it determined that the conditions listed in President Obama's executive order on PLAs were present. On September 1, USACE informed potential bidders that the requirement had been removed. AGC pointed out that the executive order leaves the agency free to refrain from requiring a PLA on the Patrick Air Force Base project and that it permits the agency to require a PLA only if the USACE has determined that all of the following conditions exist:1.    The project will cost the federal government $25 million or more;2.    Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement;3.    Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in producing labor-management stability;4.    Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and5.    Use of a PLA will be consistent with law.This is the latest of AGC's continuing efforts to educate government agencies about PLA issues and implications.  While AGC neither supports nor opposes PLAs in general, AGC strongly opposes government mandates for PLAs on publicly funded construction projects.  AGC is committed to free and open competition in all public construction markets and believes that publicly funded contracts should be awarded without regard to the lawful labor relations policies and practices of the government contractor.

Following the weeklong process of counting the absentee ballots for Alaska's primary, Fairbanks Attorney General, Joe Miller (R), was pronounced the official winner of the Alaska Republican senatorial primary by a mere 1,469 votes.  The Alaska Secretary of State announced on August 31, just seven days following the primary election, that Miller, the "Tea Party" candidate who was endorsed by former vice presidential candidate and former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, had defeated sitting senior Senator Lisa Murkowski (R).  Murkowski was first appointed to the Senate seat in 2002 by her father, Frank Murkowski, who vacated the Senate seat after he was elected Governor.Louisiana held its primary on August 28 and announced current Senator David Vitter (R) would remain the party's nominee on the ticket.  Vitter beat out two opponents - Nick Accardo and Chet Traylor - with an overwhelming 88 percent of the vote.West Virginia held a special Senate primary election on Saturday, August 28, to decide on two party nominees to fill the seat of late Sen. Robert Byrd (D).  Republicans chose businessman John Raese, who will face current West Virginia Democrat Governor Joe Manchin in November.September 14, the second "Super Tuesday" primary date is right around the corner.  Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin will all vote.  Please deliver AGC PAC checks for any candidates in these states before the primary date.  For any other state, please deliver AGC PAC checks before September 30, the FEC filing deadline for campaigns.The final state primary prior to November's general election will be held September 18, in Hawaii.