On Oct. 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it would be extending the public comment period on its proposed silica rule by 47 days. The original deadline to submit public comments had been Dec. 11, but has been pushed back to Jan. 27, 2014. AGC submitted a request to extend the deadline by 90 days in order to best respond to the proposed rule’s 87 detailed questions. This extension now allows AGC to work with its members to properly formulate an effective response. AGC is also working with a coalition of nearly two dozen construction industry trade associations that represent all facets of the industry to craft a response to the proposed rule.

On Oct. 29, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing entitled, “Strengthening the Multiemployer Pension System: How Will Proposed Reforms Affect Employers, Workers, and Retirees?" The hearing is the latest in a series of hearings on multiemployer pension reform and includes recommendations on reform from stakeholders. Starting in 2011, the committee has been examining the challenges facing the multiemployer pension system, including changing demographics, unfunded benefit liabilities, and the projected insolvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

On Oct. 30, the 29 budget conference members charged with coming to an agreement on revenue and spending between the two chambers of Congress met for its first public meeting in the Capitol. The initial gathering began with opening statements by each member, which all centered around finding comity and common ground, while staking out boundaries on potential spending cuts to the middle-class, Medicare beneficiaries and defense programs, as well as changes to tax revenues that the conference will concentrate on for the next six weeks.

On Oct. 31, AGC sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opposing the agency’s procurement of construction services using online reverse auctions. Specifically, AGC took issue with 14 VA construction services awards—valued at nearly $3 million – that were procured through online reverse auctions.

Earlier this year, Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure created the Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation to examine the current state of freight transportation in the United States and how improving freight transportation can strengthen the economy.   The Panel, which issued their final report this week, was led by Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Members Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).

Last week, over 470 construction company owners, CFOs, CPAs and consultants attended the successful 17th Annual AGC/CFMA Construction Financial Management Conference, jointly sponsored by AGC and the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). During 36 interactive sessions over the three-day meeting, owners and financial professionals heard from leading experts in the fields of accounting, tax, financing, IT, insurance and sureties, health care, fraud, workforce strategies, contracting, claims and risk management.

Join AGC member company CFOs, CEOs and other senior accounting professionals Jan. 9-10, 2014, in Miami, Fla. for the AGC Financial Issues Forum (formerly the Tax and Fiscal Affairs Committee Meeting). Be sure to make your hotel arrangements by Wednesday, Dec. 18 to take advantage of group rates.

On Oct. 23, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, by a 417-3 vote. With AGC members sending hundreds of letters of support to their members of Congress and an active AGC lobbying campaign, the WRRDA bill passed by an overwhelming margin, despite opposition from anti-construction funding and environmental groups. AGC would like to thank all of our members and chapters who sent letters in support of WRRDA.

It took an AGC-supported compromise between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to break the logjam and bring an end to the government shutdown and stalemate over the debt ceiling.  However, while the Reid-McConnell deal does not address spending or the debt ceiling in the long-term, it does inject a small amount of certainty into our economy and sets the groundwork for addressing our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges.

The timeline for action and debate of immigration reform had been sidelined by the House of Representatives as they worked on the debt ceiling and government shutdown. With yesterday’s passage of a budget deal, there is a possibility that some members of Congress will turn their attention back to immigration. President Obama spoke about pivoting the discussion to immigration before he had even signed the budget deal bill.