On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee conducted a hearing on the progressivity of the tax code with a three-witness panel of former economic advisors. Steve Rattner suggested eliminating carried interest for money managers as well as raising tax rates on capital gains since recent studies show that investments would not be discouraged. Deroy Murdock called for cutting the corporate tax rate at least to 25 percent, as well as instituting a 5 percent tax on repatriation of $2.1 trillion in offshore profits.

President Obama Expected to Veto On March 4, the Senate passed a resolution that would nullify the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule on representation-case procedures, which will go into effect on April 14, 2015. The vote fell mostly along party lines with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. The procedure was unique in that it only requires a simple majority vote in the U.S. Senate, therefore avoiding the 60-vote threshold usually required to advance legislation. While the resolution will likely be approved by the House in short order, it will still be subject to a presidential veto. This week, the president did announce that he would veto the resolution should it reach his desk.

AGC Opposes USACE-Mandated PLAs AGC joined with a coalition of construction and business associations urging members of the Senate to cosponsor legislation prohibiting federal government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). The legislation, Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (S. 71), introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-La.), falls in line with AGC’s position on PLAs: AGC neither supports nor opposes contractors’ voluntary use of PLAs on government projects, but strongly opposes any government mandate for contractors’ use of PLAs. AGC is committed to free and open competition for publicly funded work, and believes that the lawful labor relations policies and practices of private construction contractors should not be a factor in a government agency’s selection process. Visit AGC’s Legislative Action Center to write to your Senators urging their support of legislation opposing government mandated PLAs. AGC is working with members of the House to introduce the same bill in that chamber.

Urge Your Senators to Oppose the Use of Reverse Auctions Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) this week introduced the AGC-backed Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement Act, and included the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to prohibit federal agencies from procuring construction services through reverse auctions. Please urge your senators to co-sponsor the bill and support this amendment.

On June 9, AGC submitted a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking for clarification on the reporting process for employers that contribute to multiemployer health plans and the requirements to provide detailed information on the health care coverage employers’ offer. Employers participating in multiemployer health plans are subject to additional complexity while trying to comply because many decisions and requirements are bound by the employer’s collective bargaining agreements. Under the multiemployer plan model, a plan administrator has access to the information required by the IRS and reports this information, despite the reporting obligation remaining with the employer.

Thursday, June 4 @ 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET Register to join construction law and regulation experts for a complimentary webinar on Thursday, June 4 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. eastern time for a discussion on the new and pending federal regulations impacting your business. AGC’s Director of the Federal and Heavy Construction Division Jimmy Christianson and the construction law firm Smith, Currie and Hancock’s Doug Tabeling and Stephen Kelleher will provide an overview on:

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. The meeting is geared toward member company AGC member company CFOs, Treasurers, Finance Directors, Controllers, Tax Directors and other senior accounting professionals. Members have an opportunity to learn as well as formulate positions on tax and accounting matters that directly affect the bottom line and operations of AGC member companies of all sizes and specialties. Current FIF projects include helping construction companies to prepare for the new Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard Update that goes into effect in 2017.

Fight over Water Rule Moves to the Senate The House approved a measure to rescind the administration’s controversial proposed rule redefining “Waters of the U.S.” By a vote of 261-155, the House passed H.R. 1732, which would require EPA and the Corps to withdraw the regulatory proposal within 30 days and then set up a consultation process with state and local stakeholders as well as industry and small businesses in an effort to craft a new, better rule.

Action Needed Now – House Vote as Early as Tomorrow, Rule Expected to be Finalized Soon The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are close to finalizing their proposed rule redefining "waters of the U.S." and making many more areas subject to federal control. More federal control would require nearly all construction sites to obtain often unnecessary Clean Water Act permits. The vast majority of new areas covered by these rules are currently protected by state and local governments so any increase to overall water quality are questionable.

For the first time since 2010, the House and Senate have reached agreement on a joint budget resolution. The resolution would cut $5.3 trillion from the budget to balance federal receipts and expenditures over nine years. The majority of those cuts would come from mandatory entitlement programs such as Medicare. As expected, the discretionary spending in 2016 will be at the current budget cap levels of $1.016 trillion.