Democrats’ Vote in Favor of the PRO Act Will Hurt Workers and Undermine the Economic Recovery, Top Construction Industry Official Says, Urges Senate to Reject Measure Before it Harms the Economy

Late last week, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) continued its campaign to persuade the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to change the way it decides whether to forgive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of over $2M. The specific target of AGC’s campaign is a Loan Necessity Questionnaire that has greatly surprised and frustrated the borrowers of such loans, as they now seek forgiveness of them.

AGC called on President Biden to take immediate steps to address soaring lumber prices, as well as rising costs for other construction materials. AGC CEO Steve Sandherr warned that rapidly rising lumber prices pose a growing threat to multifamily housing and other construction sectors. He urged the administration to work with domestic lumber producers to ramp up production to ease growing shortages. He also called on the President to work with Canada on a new softwood lumber agreement and eliminate existing tariffs on wood products.

Measure Denies Workers Absolute Right to Secret and Fair Union Elections, Forces Them to Become the Victims of Union Disputes, Will Unleash Strikes and Disruptions that Will Kill Jobs, Hurt Recovery

Public and private building markets, many of which are reeling from pandemic impacts, will find some respite through AGC’s success in landing significant development tax policies in the year-end COVID-relief and government funding bill enacted on December 27, 2020. These tax policies include $25 billion in tax incentives for community buildings development through the extension of the New Markets Tax Credit for five years; expanding tax credits for constructing more than 550,000 multifamily housing units via the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; and makes permanent, with updated ASHRAE standards, the commercial building energy efficiency tax deduction (Section 179D), which encourages private development. In addition, AGC was able to ensure that some of the $82 billion for public and private K-12 schools and higher education in COVID-relief is eligible for construction/renovation projects related to pandemic needs. For a detailed analysis of what was included in the year-end bill from a construction industry perspective, click here.

Measure’s Modest Amount of Funding for Infrastructure Projects and Clarification that PPP Loans May Not be Taxed Will Help Offset Some of the Challenges Facing the Construction Industry

Association Continues to Push for Changes to Form Itself

Incoming President and Congress Should Focus on Enacting Measures to Rebuild Infrastructure and Revive the Economy and Avoid Imposing Needless Regulatory Burdens that will Undermine Growth

Officials Say Nationwide Plan Should Set Clear Distribution Priorities, Warn that Delegating Responsibility for Distributing Coronavirus Vaccine to State & Local Officials will Lead to Confusion, Delays, & Hardship

Gains in July are Limited to Residential Side as State and Local Governments and Private Owners Postpone And Cancel Upcoming Projects; Association Urges Prompt Federal Action to Make up for Revenue Losses