AGC and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) are seeking input on how the looming Highway Trust Fund shortfall is impacting business decisions and state transportation programs.   This survey, along with the recently launched Highways for Hardhats campaign, is part of AGC’s continued efforts to raise awareness of the impacts of Highway Trust Fund’s revenue crisis.

Today, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Environmental & Public Works (EPW) Committee announced they reached an “agreement in principle” on a reauthorization of MAP-21.  Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and ranking member David Vitter (R-La.) were joined at the announcement by the Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wy.), where they said they hoped to pass the bill out of committee in May. 

"Work Zone Speeding: A Costly Mistake" is the theme of this year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 7–11), which is intended to highlight the dangers to construction workers and motorists when highway improvement projects are underway. AGC participated in the national event, held in Seattle, Wash. on Tuesday, April 8, hosted by the Washington State Department of Transportation, with participation from the Federal Highway Administration, AASHTO, and other national construction associations. 

Today, the House of Representatives passed the official Republican budget for 2015 on a party-line vote of 219-205 (12 Republicans voted no).  Although the budget is largely symbolic, it has the potential to impact upcoming revenue shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund and reauthorization of MAP-21.

The deadline for public comment on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed rule on representation-case procedures ended this Monday, April 7. The proposed rule, known as the “quickie election” or “ambush election” rule, would expedite the union representation election cycle to as little as 10-21 days from the union's filing of a petition for an election.

On April 8, President Obama took two executive actions that will impact federal contractors.  First, the president signed an executive order (EO) that will require federal contractors to allow their employees to discuss their earnings with one another. Second, the president signed a presidential memorandum (PM) instructing the U.S. Secretary of Labor to issue new regulations requiring federal contractors to submit to the Department of Labor (DOL) data on compensation paid  to their employees, including by sex and race.

On Tuesday, the House Ways & Means Committee held its first hearing for making permanent some of the business-related tax provisions that expired last December and were included in the discussion draft introduced by Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Feb. 26. Analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation on the seven business-related tax provisions in the “Tax Reform Act of 2014” can be viewed here.

Register for the Federal Contractors Conference by April 24 and Save $100 With the fiscal year 2014 budget in place and the president’s fiscal year 2015 budget released, federal agencies have a better understanding of the projects coming down the pike. Many top federal agency leaders and their colleagues will discuss their plans at the 2014 AGC Federal Contractors Conference held June 10-12 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Will you be there to hear what they say and get a jump on the competition?

June 10-11, 2014 | The Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC AGC urges its members to participate in this year’s Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In and bring the message to Congress that: The Time is Now: Fix the Highway Trust Fund!  With the Highway Trust Fund projected to run short of cash as early as July 2014, slowing Federal reimbursements to state DOTs for ongoing contracts and the very real potential that there will be no federal funds available for new highway construction projects starting on Oct. 1, 2014 – Congress needs to hear from you.

Many political pundits and election handicappers are suggesting that Republicans will successfully wrest the Senate majority away from the Democrats in the November election. Even famed statistician Nate Silver, who correctly predicting the 2008 presidential election outcome in 49 of the 50 states and the 2012 presidential election outcome in all 50 states, gives the GOP a 60 percent chance of winning the majority. Watch Silver's take on the races during a recent broadcast of "This Week."