Congress Tries to Fix Problem It Created Last week, the Senate passed a measure that delays higher federal flood insurance premiums for homes and businesses located in coastal and flood-prone areas. The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, S. 1926, delays dramatic National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premium increases for four years, until the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an opportunity to complete the flood map affordability study mandated in a law Congress passed in 2012—the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act.

On Feb. 5, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) re-issued a proposed rule that would expedite the election process in union representation cases, likely to unions’ advantage. The rule appears to be identical to a rule proposed back in 2011.  A shortened version was finalized and took effect in 2012, but was invalidated by a court on procedural grounds shortly thereafter.  The NLRB recently withdrew its appeal of the court’s decision and formally rescinded the rule.

Advocacy Efforts for Reform Continue The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and Horizon Actuarial Services have released a second edition of their Inventory of Construction Industry Pension Plans.  The Inventory provides historical data from all multiemployer pension plans in the construction industry.  It includes analyses of key trends in plan demographics, cash flows, investments, funding, costs, and expenses. One of the enhancements of the new edition is the inclusion of plan features by specific craft.

President Obama once again used his State of the Union address to show his support for infrastructure without offering any concrete ways to responsibly pay for the investments needed for the nation’s aging roads, bridges, ports, airports, waterways, and water systems.   AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr asked the president in a Jan. 23 letter to use the opportunity to outline to Congress his plan to increase public and private investments in infrastructure projects.

Raising Minimum Wage on Federal Contracts & Streamlining Permitting Process During Tuesday’s State of the Union, President Obama announced a host of planned executive orders. Most pertinent to the construction industry was: (1) a mandate to increase the minimum wage on federal contractors; and (2) another to streamline permitting processes for construction projects.

A recent article, published by Washington Council Ernst & Young on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) affordability safe harbor estimates for 2015 for employers, is intended to help employers assess whether the coverage they offer meets the new affordability standard for employer-sponsored coverage and evaluate which of their employees could be eligible for premium assistance tax credits to purchase Exchange coverage. Employers can use the affordability safe harbors when the employer mandate takes effect on Jan. 1, 2015.

On Jan. 28, the House Ways and Means Committee held a congressional hearing on the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate definition of full-time employees. AGC joined the Employers for Flexibility in Health Care coalition in a letter to the committee highlighting that certain industries, including construction, have workforces of a variable nature and this makes complying with the new requirements of the ACA especially difficult. The reliance on part-time, temporary and seasonal workers with fluctuating and unpredictable work hours, as well as unpredictable lengths of service, have the potential to further disrupt employer provided health coverage under the law.

TAKE ACTION: Urge Your Congressman to Cosponsor H.R. 2750 With AGC support, there is hope for movement of the Design-Build Efficiency and Jobs Act of 2013, H.R. 2750, through Congress this year. H.R. 2750 would reasonably limit single-step design-build procurements and reasonably limit the number of second-step design-build finalists. Please, take action and urge your representative to cosponsor and support H.R. 2750.

AGC recently submitted testimony on the need for continued federal agency participation at construction stakeholder conferences for a Senate Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee hearing on the topic. Given a time when the national debt and deficit remain high, the federal government should consider sensible and reasonable cost-savings measures. That being said, Congress should also reconsider the slash-and-burn take on federal travel spending for non-government conferences. While such a policy has proven penny wise, AGC contends it is pound foolish and more reasonable approaches must be taken.

Freshman Rep. Trey Radel (R) officially resigned from the House this week, succumbing to Republican Party leaders both in and out of government who were urging him to leave. Controversy arose around the congressman after he accepted a plea bargain arrangement for the misdemeanor cocaine possession charges brought against him in the District of Columbia.