AGC CEO Steve Sandherr met with Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.) and members of the House and Senate to discuss the drafting of legislation to address the dire unemployment situation and the importance of a significant infrastructure component in any jobs bill.Sandherr promoted investing in all types of infrastructure as well as the need to fully fund a multi-year highway reauthorization bill. During the meeting, the need to address and find long-term financing options, such as a National Infrastructure Bank, was discussed. AGC believes an infrastructure bank would best be included in the long-term bill rather than a short-term jobs bill.  Sandherr discussed the meeting with D.C.'s Streetsblog.Rendell has been a national leader on infrastructure and is the co-chairman of Building America's Future, a bipartisan coalition of elected officials dedicated to bringing about a new era of U.S. investment in infrastructure that enhances the nation's prosperity and quality of life.  Rendell is expected to hold a press conference on Monday in Washington. For more information, contact Jeff Shoaf at (202) 547-3350 or shoafj@agc.org.

As the White House holds their jobs summit, House and Senate Democrats have begun the process of drafting legislation to address the dire unemployment situation facing the country.  The timing on when such a bill would pass is not clear.  The Senate will likely take up a "jobs" bill in January, while the House's intent is to pass a jobs package by the end of the year, though Democratic leaders have acknowledged the short congressional schedule may mean waiting until early next year.AGC has been working closely with leadership in the House and Senate to ensure that any "jobs" bill includes a significant increase in infrastructure spending and that the spending must be targeted to existing programs that can have an immediate impact in providing the construction industry with a much needed shot in the arm.  At various high level meetings, AGC has encouraged House and Senate leaders to build on the successes of the stimulus and include a significant increase in funding for transportation and water infrastructure programs.In addition to infrastructure spending, Congress is considering extending unemployment insurance, renewing a program that offers the unemployed a 65 percent subsidy for health insurance premiums under COBRA, providing tax credits to employers who hire new employees, and increasing the amount of loans offered through the Small Business Administration.As this process evolves, how these investments and policies are paid for will need to be addressed.  House and Senate Democrats have advocated for the use of the uncommitted or repaid money (about $210 billion) from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).  Republicans oppose using TARP funds to pay for a "jobs' bill, and instead favor using unspent stimulus funds.For more information, contact Sean O'Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.

The AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) today launched a new ad campaign and issued a press release to coincide with the White House Jobs Summit, calling on Congress and the Obama Administration to create jobs now by passing a highway and transit bill.AGC also announced today that federal highway and transit funding are likely to drop by over $15 billion in 2010 without an increase in surface transportation funding. The nearly 20 percent decline in construction spending will cost over 430,000 jobs next year for the construction industry and other fields.Check out the TCC radio, print and video ads here, and the press release here.  For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.

In its ongoing effort to keep the pressure on Congress to enact a six-year transportation reauthorization bill with significantly increased funding levels, the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) has scheduled December 10 as "Phone-In to Congress" Day.While Congress is embroiled in other high profile issues, senators and representatives must be reminded about the need to address the expired highway and transit program authorization. In our visits on Capitol Hill, legislative leaders report they are not hearing from people at home. They need to hear from you.TCC would like to bombard Congressional offices with calls from constituents. To do this, the following toll free number has been set up to allow you to call directly to the offices of your senators and representative: 1-888-448-2782. While email and letters are helpful, phone calls require an individual to answer and to make note of why you are calling.Please plan to call on December 10 and ask your employees to call as well and make the following points: (Our state) has huge transportation needs that are not being met including deficient bridges, deteriorating pavements, congested roads and safety hazards.The construction industry has an unemployment rate of over 18 percent.Without the certainty of a long-term authorization bill, with increased funding levels, construction companies and material suppliers in our state will be forced to lay off additional workers.Businesses will not invest in new equipment when there is so much uncertainty about the on- going and future construction market.Congress must do its job and delay no longer. Pass a six-year transportation authorization bill now and provide the revenue necessary to increase funding to address (our state's) short-term need for jobs and long-term economic growth.For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.

The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed 225 to 200 votes H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Smalls Businesses Act of 2009, which would make permanent the 2009 estate tax rate of 45 percent and tax exemption levels of $3.5 million for singles and $7 million for couples.  Without Congressional action, the estate tax is scheduled to drop to zero in 2010, only to be reinstated at a higher 55 percent tax rate and $1 million exemption in 2011. AGC has focused on full permanent repeal of the estate tax as the best option to ensure that construction companies are able to stay in business after the death of an owner.  At the same time, AGC has also advocated for reasonable, permanent reform at the lowest possible rate and highest possible exemption levels.  In addition, AGC has advocated for indexing of the exemption levels for inflation, as well as reinstating the step-up in basis repealed for estates in 2010.  H.R. 4154 would only address two of AGC's five objectives for estate tax reform: permanency and step-up in basis, so AGC will continue to work to have those issues addressed in the Senate.The bill now moves to the Senate where lawmakers there are in the midst of what is expected to be several weeks of debate on health care reform.  It is uncertain whether the Senate will be able to take a break from health care to take up estate tax by the end of the year.  An amendment is expected to be offered in the Senate that would reduce the top estate tax rate to 35 percent and increase the exemption levels to $5 million for singles and $10 million for couples.  The amendment would also index the exemption levels for inflation and reinstate step-up in basis.  The Senate passed a similar amendment AGC supported during consideration of the Senate's non-binding budget resolution earlier this year.  Sponsors of the amendment are considering how to offset the greater cost of the additional estate tax relief, and are weighing whether they will need to phase in the rates over a 10-year period. For more information, contact Karen Lapsevic at (202) 547-4733 or lapsevick@agc.org.

On October 29, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on Pipeline Safety: Pipeline Damage Prevention Programs.The purpose of the ANPRM is to begin soliciting comments in order to assess the adequacy of state's damage prevention enforcement regimes for oil, gas and other hazardous material pipelines.  PHMSA will use this information to develop criteria for federal enforcement of damage prevention laws in states that are deemed to have inadequate enforcement of damage prevention laws for excavators, utility/facility owners, one-call centers and professional locaters as mandated by the 2006 PIPES Act.AGC and its members are extremely supportive of state one-call programs, and we have been working with states to improve compliance, enforcement, and the effectiveness of one-call and damage prevention programs all over the country. For details on the ANPRM, click here.For additional information, contact Perry L. Fowler at (702) 837-5321 or fowlerp@agc.org.

On December 3, 2009, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) submitted a proposal for review to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that would significantly change the principles and guidelines that govern federal water-resource planning.The proposal would require that all projects improve the economic well-being of the nation, better protect communities from the effects of floods and storms, help communities and individuals make better choices about where to build based on an understanding of the risk, and protect and restore the environment. AGC is currently reviewing the draft.For details on the proposal, click here.For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

On November 18, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) finally released a health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill is the result of merging and modifying two Senate committee drafts, as well as adding new taxes. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate of the bill is $849 billion over the next ten years. The bill's initial cost is less than the House passed bill and President Obama's target of $900 billion. The bill is paid for by increasing Medicare taxes and taxing high cost health care plans.The bill would allow states to opt-out of a government run public health insurance plan, require Americans to have health coverage or pay a penalty, and require employers with 50 or more employees to pay a penalty for each employee who received government subsidies to purchase coverage through the exchange.The largest revenue raiser is the tax on high-cost health insurance plans. Plans with yearly premiums of $8,500 for individuals and $23,000  for families would be subjected to a 40 percent excise tax, which is higher than previous Senate drafts. The increased Medicare payroll taxes would raise $54 billion over the next decade by increasing the rate from 1.45 to 1.95 percent on individuals earning $200,000 a year and joint filers earning $250,000 a year. The individual mandate would begin in 2014 and start at $95 per year for each American without coverage and would rise to $750 each year in 2016. The bill includes insurance reforms that would prohibit health insurance companies from canceling policies after an individual becomes sick. There would be no lifetime or annual limits on coverage. The plan would help Medicare recipients afford coverage and would assist in paying for prescription drugs.It is expected that the Senate will begin debate on Saturday by holding their first procedural vote on the bill where it must get 60 votes. If it passes as expected, the Senate would continue to debate the bill and begin voting on amendments after Thanksgiving, holding a final vote in December. Next, the bill will be conferenced with the House bill, which is expected to occur in January before the State of the Union Address.Many of the procedural votes and eventually the amendments and final passage will require 60 votes. Currently, Democratic holdouts appear to be Senators Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark).  It is expected that they will support the first set of procedural hurdles.AGC opposed the House bill because it included an employer mandate, created a public option that will compete with private insurance, mandated benefits for all employees, did not curtail either federal/state costs for Medicare and Medicaid nor reduced private insurance premiums, did not curtail medical malpractice costs and included a significant surtax on high income earners that will be particularly harsh on companies organized as subchapter S corporations.  AGC is currently analyzing the Senate's 2,000 page bill, its impact on the construction industry and how it could be altered to reduce costs and make coverage more affordable.For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.

A bipartisan group of seven Senate Committee Chairs and Ranking Members sent a letter on Tuesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging leadership to file cloture to move forward on a 6-month extension of the surface transportation bill to spur job creation and an economic recovery. A cloture motion is necessary because several Republican senators object to the bill on budgetary concerns and will not allow an extension to be considered by the Senate without a cloture vote.The Senate and the House have been at a standoff concerning how to proceed with reauthorization of the highway and transit programs. Until recently, Senate transportation leaders were supporting an 18-month delay, while the House passed a three-month extension with the intent of keeping pressure on for enactment of a six-year measure. The Senate leaders now support a six-month extension to ensure that the program does not flounder while discussions proceed on a longer term bill. The programs have been operating under the terms of two short term extensions that were included in a Continuing Resolution that expires on December 18. The bipartisan letter pointed out that short term extensions mean less money is available for states, and do not provide states the certainty they need to keep crucial transportation projects moving forward.The letter was signed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Ranking Member, Senator John Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas), Ranking Member, and Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Chairman of the Committee on Finance.For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.

The AGC Co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) continues efforts to urge Congress to work towards enactment of a multi-year transportation bill with significantly increased funding to address the nation's long term and immediate economic problems.The TCC last week released a national survey of transportation contractors that reinforced the many challenges facing the U.S. transportation construction industry and the need for increased federal investment. TCC member organizations are now working on getting state business groups to sign onto a letter that will go to each state's Congressional delegation urging enactment of a well-funded, long-term bill. In addition, a phone-in day is being organized to continue to keep the pressure on the Congress.News of the survey was covered by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, CQ Today and the Denver Daily News, to name a few.  AGC of North Dakota's executive vice president, Russ Hanson, discussed the results on the local NBC news station.For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.