AGC has prepared draft comments to submit to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) concerning the continuation of waivers from Buy America requirements for manufactured products that are not substantially made of steel or iron and for the minimal use of foreign steel products. Comments are due Friday, Aug. 9 and AGC chapters and members are urged to submit comments. The Federal Register Notice can be viewed here.

On July 30, President Obama gave a speech in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he laid out more of his “middle-out” economic plan to create jobs as a “grand bargain for the middle class.” The speech focused on his tax reform plan – an exact likeness of the framework for corporate tax reform released in February 2012 – with the caveat that new revenues from the elimination of tax “loopholes” would be spent on infrastructure,  job training programs, and manufacturing innovation institutes.

A joint statement from Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) declared that they received “substantial feedback” from fellow senators before the July 26 deadline for “blank slate” submissions. Chairman Baucus pledged to keep the written submissions private, and a committee staff memo promised confidentiality through 2064. According to Chairman Baucus’ staff, the panel received proposals spanning more than 1,000 pages from at least 60 senators. According to news reports, 33 senators have provided highlights of their submissions to the public. Many senators ended up submitting vague proposals long on platitudes and short on specifics — or ignored it altogether.

This week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) sent two final rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on revising the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act. This marks the last step in the regulatory rulemaking process. Typically, final rules are under OMB review for 30 to 90 days and after that allotted period of time, the far reaching rules could be finalized and published.

On July 31, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) held a closed-door meeting with the New Democrats, a coalition of moderate House Democratic members supportive of pro-growth tax policies, in order to prepare them for an active role in tax reform debate. According to congressional staff, lawmakers and Chairman Camp discussed a range of tax topics normally controversial for Democrats, including dynamic scoring and revenue. Unlike some of the New Democrats more liberal counterparts, they signaled support for a revenue-neutral tax bill that uses both static and dynamic scoring to judge economic benefit and cost.

According to Ways and Means Committee staff, Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) plans to draft legislation during the August congressional recess (which begins August 2) and hopes to have a committee markup in October before a November showdown over raising the debt limit. The House reconvenes on September 9. Assuming Congress agrees to keep the government funded after September 30, the timeline places a tax reform markup directly between two of the most anticipated political battles of the year. Camp said after a meeting with House Democrats that there is no set schedule for Ways and Means members to meet over recess, but he is expecting feedback from committee Democrats in the coming weeks.

According to reports, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) “is considering” running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Carl Levin and “has met with” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Chairman Camp noted, “It’s a big decision, and I’m going to look at it very carefully and thoughtfully.” There are no indications that this preliminary development has retracted his attention from comprehensive tax reform. As for background, Chairman Camp has more than $3 million the bank as of June 30, according to his most recent campaign disclosure report; and the filing deadline for Senate candidates in Michigan is April 22, 2014.

By a vote of 265-155 the House on July 24, 2013 passed HR 2218, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which prevents the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from designating fly ash and other coal ash residuals from being classified as a hazardous waste. The legislation, introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), establishes a regulatory structure for coal ash that would be controlled by states with little EPA oversight.

AGC recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command for to repair facades at: (1) Rickover Hall and (2) Nimitz Library, both located at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) announced that on July 29 they will visit two separate small businesses in Philadelphia as part of their nationwide “Simpler Taxes Tour.”  The Philadelphia trip is the second stop in a series of visits across the nation so the Chairmen of the two tax-writing committees can hear directly from Americans about how to spark a more prosperous economy and make today’s broken tax code fairer for both families and job creators.  The focus of the Philadelphia trip will be how a simpler and fairer tax code can help small business and families boost the economy, create jobs and improve wages.