On April 10, President Obama released his $3.77 trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014. The budget, which was submitted two months late, sets a path to cut the deficit by as much as $1.8 trillion over 10 years. The president’s budget maintains his call for taxing the wealthy by letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for households that earn more than $250,000 a year, while imposing a new 30 percent minimum tax on millionaires and repealing established tax rules for oil and gas companies.
On Friday, March 29, President Obama highlighted his proposals to create jobs through investing in infrastructure. The plan – which will be laid out further in the president’s budget – is a combination of proposals laid out in the State of the Union and a new plan to attract private infrastructure investment.
In light of recent press reports – some conflicting and premature – on a bipartisan “deal” on immigration reform from the Senate “Gang of Eight,” AGC joined with other construction industry groups to comment on the industry’s view of the negotiations thus far. The eight senators – Schumer (D-N.Y.), McCain (R-Ariz.), Durbin (D-Ill.), Graham (R-S.C.), Menendez (D-N.J.), Rubio (R-Fla.), Bennet (D-Colo.), and Flake (R-Ariz.) – continue to work on many elements of immigration reform, with the bulk of the discussions and the source of much consternation, so far, is centered on a future temporary worker visa program.
When scandal-ridden former Gov. Mark Sanford (R) first announced he was attempting a political comeback by running in the current special congressional election cycle, many voters and political observers scoffed at his chances of victory. On Tuesday, Sanford overcame the critics and quite possibly the odds as he won his Republican nomination with a rather impressive 57-43 percent victory over former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Bostic.
On March 25, AGC of America filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in defense of the traditional requirements for good faith and fair dealing, insofar as they apply to the federal government. Those requirements grow out of an “implied covenant” that the courts have construed federal contracts to include for over 150 years. Repeatedly, the courts have also held that the covenant requires the government to administer its contracts reasonably and not resort to subterfuges or evasions, even if the government believes it would be justified in doing so.
On March 26, President Obama signed the continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2013. The funding measure includes spending cuts that were part of the $85 billion in across-the-board cuts under sequester, but allows some agencies to move funds around to different accounts, providing a limited degree of agency flexibility.
As expected, Sen. Tim Johnson announced that he will not seek a fourth term in the upcoming 2014 election. He indicated after 36 consecutive years in elective office – including service in the state legislature, and combined time in the U.S. House and Senate – that he and his wife are looking forward to returning to life in South Dakota and "doing other things." Johnson conceded that the brain hemorrhage he suffered in 2006 has made life more difficult, but emphasized that he never stopped working hard for the people that repeatedly elected him as their representative.
In addition to discussions with lead personnel representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Overseas Building Operations, and more, this year’s 2013 Federal Contractors Conference attendees will hear from a panel of construction industry and federal agency experts on public private partnerships (PPP) for both horizontal and vertical projects.
On Tuesday, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) easily claimed the top position in the 1st Congressional District's special primary last night, capturing 37 percent of the vote within a huge field of sixteen Republican candidates. He will advance to the April 2nd run-off election against former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Bostic, who nipped state Sen. Larry Grooms for second place.
AGC and a diverse group of more than 55 national coalition partners representing state and local governments, housing and infrastructure developers, transportation groups and private industry, have urged the U.S. Senate to support the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds which local and state governments use to build America’s schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, airports, public transit, water systems and other essential public infrastructure.