It's rare when two candidates make a public announcement about their political plans on the same day, but that's exactly what happened on Tuesday in the Equality State of Wyoming. Shortly after three-term Sen. Mike Enzi (R) confirmed that he will run for re-election next year, Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice-President and ex-Wyoming Congressman Dick Cheney, released a video officially launching a primary campaign against the incumbent Senator.

AGC recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command in the Pacific for: (1) the renovation of an existing aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; and (2) the construction of a submarine production support facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

After weeks of partisan disagreement – with Democrats threatening to change the procedural rules in the Senate to avoid Republican attempts to filibuster presidential nominees, including nominees for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) – Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have reached a deal to confirm the nominees.

Yesterday, the Department of Treasury announced that the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would be delayed for one year. The employer mandate initially forced large employers, as defined by the ACA, to either provide health coverage for its full-time employees and equivalents or pay a penalty beginning in 2014. AGC has been working with an employer coalition on the implementation of the ACA to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains a competitive option for their employees. Transition relief from the employer mandate was a top priority of the coalition.

Legislation Continues to Include AGC-Opposed Restrictions on the Construction Industry The Senate debate of the comprehensive immigration bill S. 744 – the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act – enters its third and final week, with the conversation still focused on strengthening the border security provisions before the legalization provisions of the bill could go into effect.  Yesterday, the Senate cleared a procedural motion on a compromise border security amendment with 67 votes. The border security amendment would double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol by adding 20,000 agents and require 700 miles of fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border. It also would deploy unmanned aerial drones and other added resources at the border. The bill is likely to see a vote on final passage later this week and will likely pass. 

Last Thursday and Friday, member company CFOs, CEOs and other senior accounting professionals participated in the AGC Financial Issues Forum (FIF) Summer Meeting in San Diego, Calif. FIF members were brought up to speed by AGC staff on the schedule in Congress for tax reform; privy to an in-depth economic outlook for the industry; and engaged in a colloquy with colleagues on the latest accounting proposals impacting the construction industry.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) notice-posting rule is invalid.  The regulation, which has been on hold for over a year and has never taken effect, would require most employers to post designated notices informing employees of certain rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including the right to organize.  The decision is the latest in a series of significant victories by employers challenging the Board’s authority in court, including a decision last month by the D.C. Circuit striking down the same rule on different grounds.

On June 18, the House Education and the Workforce Committee Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on Promoting the Accuracy and Accountability of the Davis-Bacon Act. The hearing focused on some of the flaws with the manner in which surveys are conducted, job classifications, and how the law is enforced. While many AGC members participate in Davis-Bacon wage surveys and regularly perform work subject to the Act, there are several concerns and recommendations that AGC shared with the committee in a letter prior to the hearing.

Energy & Water (U.S. Army Corps Civil Works) On June 18, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved a funding bill for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works construction program. The bill provides a mixed bag of results for construction accounts when compared to the previous fiscal year (FY) in which Corps sequestration cuts amounted to $263 million.

Increasingly Likely Bill with AGC-Opposed Restrictions on the Construction Industry will Pass Senate As the Senate debate of the comprehensive immigration bill S. 744 – the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act – enters week two, the conversation has been overwhelmingly focused on strengthening the border security provisions before the legalization provisions of the bill could go into effect. The Senate has only one more week of debate and amendments left before an expected final vote on passage. The attempts to increase border security language are an effort to bring more GOP senators in support of the final bill.