On July 24, in response to a Dear Colleague letter from Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) outlining a basic framework for drafting a tax reform bill, AGC sent a letter to the Finance Committee leaders and members of the Senate highlighting various portions of the tax code affecting construction companies of all sizes and business models. In the Baucus/Hatch letter last month, the leaders of the panel asked all Senators to formally submit legislative language or detailed proposals for what tax expenditures should be included in a reformed tax code by July 26, with special attention given to bipartisan proposals.

The Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates officially launched this week. The focus of the group is to persuade lawmakers, opinion leaders and the public to view tax reform through the lens of effective tax rates, the amount in taxes that businesses actually pay. Coalition members plan to ask members of Congress and administration officials to use effective tax rates as a leading metric – and a key measure of success – as tax reform develops on Capitol Hill. Its members hope effective-tax-rate comparisons will bolster legislation that broadens the tax base while lowering rates for corporations, as well as pass-through businesses.

The House Interior/Environment Appropriations Subcommittee finished up its work on a bill that would fund, among other things, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its programs for fiscal year (FY) 2014.  The EPA saw almost a $3 billion cut to their programs, with the State Revolving Loan Funds (SRFs) taking the brunt of the cuts.

On July 19, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) introduced the AGC-supported Construction Contracting Act of 2013, H.R. 2751, which would prohibit federal agencies from procuring construction services from small businesses through reverse auctions. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced the Design Build Efficiency and Jobs Act of 2013, H.R. 2750, which would limit the second-step of the design-build procurement process to no more than five finalists and limit the use of single-step design-build procurement. Both of these bills apply only to direct-federal agency acquisition and not to state or local agencies.

More than 50 industry and local government groups sent a letter asking Senators to request the Senate Finance Committee leaders maintain the federal tax exemption on municipal bond interest as they consider the chamber’s priorities for its comprehensive tax reform package.

On Tuesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing on the fiscal condition of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).  The subcommittee heard testimony from Polly Trottenberg, undersecretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Kim Cawley with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).  In Cawley’s testimony, CBO provided a dire warning about what will happen to federal highway and transit programs dependent on Highway Trust Fund revenue – they will receive no new money.  While Ms. Trottenberg offered no new solutions to the problems facing the trust fund, she instead continued to push for President Obama’s idea to take a piece of the savings from the drawdown from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (an idea that has very little chance of happening). 

James H. Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Granite Construction Inc., represented AGC at a hearing held on July 24 by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. The hearing was held to examine how the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) is working in light of the large budget increase it received in MAP-21. Roberts began his testimony by pointing out that, “Our transportation investment needs are great and the funds to fix the problem are running short.” He emphasized the construction industry’s very real concern about the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund and urged the committee to address this problem sooner rather than later.

On July 17, the U.S. House passed legislation on delaying the employer and individual mandates of the 2010 healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The renewed attention to the ACA by the House is a direct result of the administration’s announcement on July 2 of its transition relief from reporting requirements and the transition relief from the penalty or “shared responsibility payments” for employers until 2015. AGC supported H.R. 2667, the Authority for Mandate Delay Act, because it codifies the one-year delay of penalties and reporting requirements and provides employers desperately needed certainty on the employer mandate.

Funding Below President’s FY 2014 Request for GSA Construction Spending On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved a General Services Administration (GSA) funding bill that would increase construction accounts compared to FY 2013. However, the proposed levels of GSA construction investment are well below the president’s FY 2014 budget request.

Next week, the U.S. House is expected to vote on a piece of legislation that could safeguard the use of fly ash and other coal combustion residuals (CCRs) in construction.  AGC supports H.R. 2218, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which would establish reasonable disposal requirements that protect human health and the environment.