Democratic leaders are finalizing health care reform legislation this week in a two step process. First the House will pass the Senate bill complete with payoffs to Nebraska, Louisiana and Florida. The bill also includes the Merkley Amendment that singles out construction by repealing the small business exemption for construction contractors employing as few as five people. The House and Senate Budget Committees will then work on a package that modifies the Senate bill. Democrats will use the partisan reconciliation process to pass the final bill. AGC is concerned the final bill will be similar to the Senate bill, which fails to control cost, reduces the quality of coverage and options for coverage, and will result in higher premiums.The Merkley Amendment, a provision targeting small employers in the construction industry remains in the Senate bill and the only chance for removing it is next week when the Budget Committee amends the bill. The provision specifically targets the construction industry by removing the small business exemption to the employer mandate penalties only for construction firms. Congress originally exempted all businesses that employ less than 50 employees from the employer mandate due to the complexity and costs associated with the mandates in the bill. The change would require small employers in the construction industry to comply with all the employer mandates once they have five employees and their payroll reaches $250,000.It is important for you to use the tools on the AGC Legislative Action Center to write your elected officials or to call their offices in opposition to the Democrats' approach to reform. Call the Capitol Hill switchboard (202) 224-3121 and ask for your member of Congress, or send a letter by clicking here.Reasons to Oppose Provision Targeting Construction Industry:Few senators were aware of the provision and the amendment was never open to debate.The amendment was pushed by a small employer group representing less than 4 percent of construction companies.The provision differs from other employee and payroll thresholds elsewhere in the bill, as well as other labor laws and regulations.The construction industry is currently experiencing the highest unemployment of any other industry, 27.4%, triple the national rate.The provision prohibits small construction companies from having the opportunity to take advantage of the small business exemption that companies in every other industry are eligible for.

On Wednesday the Senate agreed on a motion to proceed to the long-delayed FAA reauthorization bill.  It was unclear whether the Senate would actually be able to take up the bill due to a controversial provision in the House-passed version that would make it easier for certain FedEx workers to unionize.The Senate is attempting to avoid a fight on that issue by attaching the Senate bill to an unrelated House-passed bill.  The two year Senate authorization provides $4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in FY 2011.  The Airport Improvement program is the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects.  The bill also revises procedural requirements for imposition of aircraft passenger facility charges.  Those fees are used to fund airport infrastructure investments.  A summary of the bill can be found here.The Senate will continue consideration and likely vote on the FAA bill next week.

The Obama Administration is currently reviewing a proposal supported by the Center for American Progress and the National Employment Law Project, which claims that the federal contracting market is financing millions of poverty wage jobs across our economy, and supporting employers that are significant or repeat violators of workplace, tax and other laws. To address these allegations, these organizations are calling on the administration to establish a range of "responsible contractor" policies to ensure that federal contracting promotes the creation of good jobs by offering bid preferences to businesses that engage in "responsible" employment practices.The recommendations of these organizations specifically call for the following changes to the federal procurement system:Institute more rigorous responsibility screening of prospective bidders to ensure that federal contracts are not awarded to employers that are significant or repeat violators of workplace, tax or other laws.Establish a preference for employers that provide good jobs in the contractor selection process, prioritizing firms that provide "living wages," health benefits and paid sick days.Quickly bring on-line, expand and improve the newly authorized national contractor misconduct database mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.Strengthen monitoring and enforcement of contractors' compliance with existing and new workplace standards.If the White House chooses to move towards implementing these recommendations, it is very likely it will be done through Executive Order and then a change to the Federal Acquisition Regulation. AGC is closely monitoring this situation and evaluating the recommendations of these reports and their potential effect on the federal construction market.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) March 4 introduced the "Building STAR Energy Efficiency Rebate Act of 2010" (S. 3079), a bill that would provide $6 billion in federal investment through rebates and financing incentives. The bill would cover about 30 percent of the cost of installing energy efficient products and/or providing energy efficiency-related services (e.g., energy audits) in commercial and multifamily residential buildings this year.  It is estimated that the $6 billion in funding for the Building STAR program would spur $18 to $24 billion in total spending, creating up to 200,000 jobs in the construction, manufacturing and other related industries.  The program is designed to work quickly and includes simplified application procedures for building owners.Building STAR is the companion to Home STAR, a similar rebate program for home owners being developed by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which today held a hearing on both proposals. AGC is a participating organization in the coalition that developed and is promoting Building STAR and was quoted in a BNA Construction Labor Report article addressing the Building STAR bill.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed, 62-36, the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010, which includes a one-year extension of $31 billion of expired tax provisions and funding relief for pension plans. Included in the tax extenders are two provisions of interest to the construction industry.  The first would extend the 15-year shortened cost recovery period for restaurant improvements and new construction, and retail and leasehold improvements.  The second is an extension of the railroad maintenance credit, which provides short-line and regional railroads with a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the cost to maintain their tracks.The measure also includes limited funding relief for multiemployer pension plans, offering a longer 30-year amortization of investment losses incurred in 2008 and/or 2009.The bill now returns to the House, where the chamber is likely to request a conference with the Senate to resolve differences, according to newly appointed Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Sander Levin (D-Mich.), whose panel is also expected to consider a small business tax relief and infrastructure bill next week.

AGC joined members of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC) Wednesday in a letter to the editor of The New York Times in response to an article the newspaper published March 1. The article addressed concerns with water and wetland protection under the Clean Water Act following two Supreme Court decisions over the last decade. The New York Times article reports that WAC, of which AGC is a founding member, has used scare tactics to block consideration of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which its proponents claim would restore federal jurisdiction over waters and wetlands they believe have been lost due to the Supreme Court's rulings. WAC's letter to the editor responds to this mischaracterization by stating that WAC fully supports the Clean Water Act and its implementation to protect waters and wetlands, and that WAC's concerns with the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) are valid and based on the explicit language of the bill.  The bill would grant EPA and the Corps virtually unlimited regulatory control over all "intrastate waters" - essentially all wet areas within a state, including groundwater, ditches, pipes, streets, gutters and desert features.

As President Obama and Democratic Leaders regroup from the White House summit on Health Care Reform, they have begun plotting a strategy and timeline for passage. It appears that the Democrats are considering moving the legislation at an accelerated pace, perhaps beginning as early as this week. In order to accomplish this aggressive timeline, they likely will have to pass the Senate bill and also utilize the politically toxic legislative process known as reconciliation. Meanwhile, AGC is part of a coalition that is urging Congress to rethink its current approach to health care reform.The outcome of the process and final legislative package remains unknown at this time and some Democrats who initially opposed the legislation are being strongly urged to reconsider their vote by the Democratic leadership in order to ensure they have enough votes for passage in the House.AGC has considerable concerns with both the process being utilized to enact this sweeping reform of the nation's health care system, as well as the policies in the bills. AGC has long advocated for health care reform that allows employers to provide affordable and quality coverage for their employees, but the current bills and policy changes being trumpeted by Democratic leaders fail to accomplish these goals.  In addition, AGC and other business groups are launching an advertising campaign that pushes for employer-friendly health care reforms.[FLOWPLAYER=http://newsletters.agc.org/newsandviews/files/2010/03/uscc-afford.flv,600,450]In addition to concerns with rising taxes on individuals and employers, future projected increases on insurance premiums and mandates on employers, AGC remains opposed to singling out the construction industry. The original Senate bill excluded small employers in the construction industry from the small business exemption. While the outline released from the White House last week does not mention this provision, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has not voiced his opposition to it.Please communicate with your members of Congress on health care reform and specifically on the construction industry employer provision by using the AGC Legislative Action Center.For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.

In a week that saw the temporary shutdown of the Federal Highway Program and the president signing into law a 30-day extension of SAFETEA-LU, the House today passed by a vote of 217-201 an amended version of the Senate "jobs" bill, which among other things would extend SAFETEA-LU  through 2010 and provide a $19.5 billion transfer from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund. The other provisions in the Senate bill can be found here.  The House bill was amended to make it deficit-neutral and to address concerns of minority-owned business in order for Democratic leadership to have enough support to pass the bill.The fate of the bill, the year-long extension and the Highway Trust Fund transfer once again rests in the hands of the Senate, which passed their bill by a vote of 70-28 on February 24.  Due to the Senate schedule it is not clear when the amended House bill will be taken up for consideration by the Senate.  In the absence of a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, AGC will once again work with Senate leadership to ensure passage of the long term extension and the Highway Trust Fund transfer in order to provide continuity in the programs and certainty for our members through the end of the year.

Tom Foss, president of Griffith Company, Brea, Calif., presented AGC testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on the importance of transportation investments to the national economy and jobs.Foss emphasized that the construction industry, like other businesses, relies on a well-functioning transportation system for delivery of materials and products to job sites and, therefore, called for increased investment. Foss pointed out that unemployment in the construction industry is currently more than 24 percent and that additional highway and transportation investment is needed to remedy this situation. AGC's testimony pointed out that transportation funding in the stimulus legislation has saved construction jobs, but that more funding was needed. Foss also called for enactment of a long term SAFETEA-LU reauthorization with increased funding to bring long-term economic growth and certainty to the highway construction market. EPW Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she is committed to getting a six-year highway bill completed this year. She called the hearing the first step in accomplishing this goal.

As President Obama and Democratic Leaders regroup from last week's White House summit on Health Care Reform, they have begun plotting a strategy and timeline for passage. It appears that the Democrats are considering moving the legislation at an accelerated pace, perhaps beginning as early as next week. In order to accomplish this aggressive timeline, it appears that they will have to pass the Senate bill and also utilize the politically toxic legislative process known as reconciliation.The outcome of the process and final legislative package remains unknown at this time and some Democrats who initially opposed the legislation are being strongly urged to reconsider their vote by the Democratic leadership in order to ensure they have enough votes for passage in the House.AGC has considerable concerns with both the process being utilized to enact this sweeping reform of the nation's health care system, as well as the policies in the bills. AGC has long advocated for health care reform that allows employers to provide affordable and quality coverage for their employees, but the current bills and policy changes being trumpeted by Democratic leaders fail to accomplish these goals.In addition to concerns with rising taxes on individuals and employers, future projected increases on insurance premiums and mandates on employers, AGC remains opposed to singling out the construction industry. The original Senate bill excluded small employers in the construction industry from the small business exemption. While the outline released from the White House last week does not mention this provision, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has not voiced his opposition to it.Please communicate with your members of Congress on health care reform and specifically on the construction industry employer provision by using the AGC Legislative Action Center.