AGC recently submitted comments on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) proposed rule revamping small business prime contractor performance of work requirements. The proposed rule would change that requirement in concept from a prime contractor performance of work requirement to a limitation on the amount of work the prime contractor could subcontract. AGC noted the improvements this proposed rule would make, but AGC also highlighted the significant risks it would present small business construction prime contractors.

Repatriation and Transportation Financing are the Focus This week, two congressional committees held hearings exploring the use of repatriation to fill the Highway Trust Fund revenue gap and additional financing for transportation infrastructure, respectively. Congress must identify sources of revenue to fill the gap and pass a long-term transportation bill before the end of July, when the current extension expires, in order to keep highway & bridge construction projects running. AGC continues to push for a permanent fix for the Highway Trust Fund and supports innovative financing options that would increase the use of public-private partnerships, among other measures, to address our nation’s transportation infrastructure needs.

Contact Your Member of Congress and Ask Them to Sign House Letter Representatives Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) are currently circulating an AGC-supported letter urging appropriators to utilize Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) revenues at the levels set by the Water Resources Reform & Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA). WRRDA authorizes Congress to spend up to $1.25 billion—69 percent of HMTF revenues—on harbor maintenance activities in fiscal year (FY) 2016. However, the House Appropriations Committee must agree to actually spend that level of funding in FY 2016 for the promise in WRRDA to be realized. As such, AGC urges you to take action and urge your representative to sign onto the Boustany/Hahn letter to the House Appropriations Committee asking appropriators to spend HMTF revenues at the FY 2016 WRRDA levels.

This week, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report detailing public spending on transportation and water infrastructure from 1956 to 2014. The report showed that public spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure has been fairly consistent as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at about 2.4 percent, which is below the 3.0 percent peak in 1959. It did recently rise to 2.7 percent of GDP in 2009 and 2010 because of the increase in infrastructure investment under ARRA, which temporarily boosted infrastructure spending by $55 billion.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) by a vote of 316-101.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a pilot program this week that will allow state and local governments to utilize local hiring preferences on their federal-aid highway and federal transit assisted contracts. The pilot program is effective immediately. In addition, DOT issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to alter Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations that will make these changes permanent. DOT has provided a 30-day comment period on these changes.

Comments Due by March 17 AGC is in the process of evaluating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions to National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The proposal would greatly increase the stringency of the ozone NAAQS at a time when implementation of the current 2008 standard is still underway and despite key uncertainties in the underlying science. There is strong data that casts doubt on whether lowering ozone levels beyond the current standard will have any significant health benefit. AGC will recommend that EPA retain the current ozone standard, which is set at 75 ppb (parts per billion). The 90-day public comment period closes on March 17.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued a proposed rule that would expand mentor-protégé arrangements to all federal small businesses. In a mentor-protégé arrangement, a small business—i.e., the protégé—can joint venture with non-small businesses—i.e., large or mid-tier businesses acting as the mentor—and bid on small business set-aside contracts.

Reps. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter in support of tax-exempt municipal bonds. The letter urges Speaker of the House John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to support municipal bonds and oppose proposals that would cap or eliminate the deduction for municipal bond interest.

On Wednesday, presumed 2016 presidential candidate, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) released an anticipated tax reform plan that seeks to move to full business expensing, reduce corporate tax rates to 25 percent for both C and S corporations, while eliminating both capital gains and dividend taxes and moving to two tax brackets for individuals (15 and 35 percent).