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AGC Advocacy Update: AGC Pushes WRDA
Passage
Other ligislative priorities include
the Gulf Coast Recovery Act and Good Samaritan legislation
During the past year, AGC repeatedly demonstrated its legislative
clout in Washington, D.C. with the passage of SAFETEA-LU and
the progress on the Water Resources Development Act. AGC continues
to be the leading voice of the construction industry on Capitol
Hill.
Water Resources Development Act
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, AGC continues its call
on Congress and the administration to approve a $10 billion
reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
and increase investment in the nation's waterways infrastructure.
The U.S. House of Representatives quickly passed its version
of WRDA in July, and AGC continues to push for Senate passage
of WRDA.
Waterways Infrastructure Funding
AGC expressed deep concern that the President's Fiscal Year
2006 Budget insufficiently funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and has potential long-term, negative impacts on the construction
industry. The House passed a FY 2006 measure of $4.7 billion
in funding for USACE in May, a decrease of $294 million below
the FY 2005 enacted level, but $414 million over the President's
budget request of $4.3 million.
AGC scored a major victory when the Senate also overwhelmingly
approved its version of the measure, which includes $5.29
billion for the USACE. That figure is $966 million over the
request of the Bush administration and provides for new construction
projects and new study starts. This is the largest proposed
appropriation for the USACE in many years.
Reverse Auctions
House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis' (R-Va.)
Acquisition Services Improvement Act (H.R. 2067) passed as
part of the House Armed Services Reauthorization this spring.
The most significant victory for AGC members is the inclusion
of language prohibiting federal agencies from utilizing reverse
auctions to procure construction services. AGC is currently
working with House and Senate leaders to ensure this provision
is included when the legislation is reconciled in Conference
Committee before the end of the year.
Good Samaritan Legislation
In early September, the AGC-inspired Good Samaritan Legislation
Volunteers Act (H.R. 3717) was introduced in the House. This
legislation would help limit the liability that contractor
first responders feel when responding to the rescue, recovery
and reconstruction as a result of a natural disaster such
as Hurricane Katrina.
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| Congressman Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.)
emphasized the importance of creating a Water Trust Fund
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and his support of AGC's
trust fund concept at AGC's Midyear Meeting. |
Gulf Coast Recovery Act
On September 22, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced the
Gulf Coast Recovery Act (S.1761). AGC fully supports this
legislation, which will help prevent contractors responding
to Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters from being
sued simply for following the directions that federal, state
and local officials need.
AGC believes it is important for companies aiding government
rescue, recovery and reconstruction to have some reasonable
measure of protection from the risk of future litigation for
providing essential public services in a time of crisis.
Immigration Reform
Congress plans to move forward with some immigration reform.
AGC believes that any immigration reform needs to be comprehensive
in nature and reach beyond simple border security issues.
Addressing the needs of the U.S. economy is vitally important
to any immigration reform. AGC supports a guest-worker program
and legislation as part of any reform effort.
Effort To Suspend Highway User Fees
AGC strongly opposed the Gas Tax Relief Act (H.R. 2683),
a bill introduced by Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) to temporarily
suspend the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax for 30 days
in response to rising gas prices nationwide. AGC believes
H.R. 2683 does not address the complex root problem of rising
gas prices, would lower national revenue and increase the
national deficit. There is also no guarantee that the tax
relief would actually be passed along to consumers. AGC will
continue to oppose this bill and other efforts to suspend
or repeal the federal gas tax.
AGC is also leading the opposition to cutting transportation
funding to balance the budget. AGC has pointed out to Congress
that this is a trust fund financial program and the mass evacuations
in the Gulf Coast have highlighted the need for more, not
less, transportation investment.
Death Tax Repeal
In September, the Senate was scheduled to consider legislation
to permanently repeal the death tax. Because of Hurricane
Katrina and concerns about large deficits, complicated by
increased spending on disaster relief in the Gulf, the Senate
vote was postponed, making a vote on the death tax unlikely
until spring 2006.
A vote in 2006, rather than this fall, might make for a better
political climate to find the 60 votes necessary to make repeal
permanent. Until the day the bill was pulled from the Senate
schedule, repeal supporters had guarantees of only 58 Senate
votes, which would have required a vote on a compromise proposal.
Water Infrastructure
AGC's Municipal & Utilities Division recently voted to
support draft trust fund legislation developed in cooperation
with its coalition partner, the Water Infrastructure Network.
In a speech to AGC members at the Midyear Meeting, Rep. Jimmy
Duncan (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Water Resources and
Environment Subcommittee, noted AGC testimony before his committee
in June and expressed his support for the trust fund concept.
Multiemployer Pension Plans
AGC continues to lobby for legislation that raises the maximum
level at which contributions into Taft-Hartley plans are deductible
by the employer to 140%. This change will give trustees the
incentive to put more money into plans, thus allowing plans
to weather economic storms or fund responsible benefit increases
during the good times.
AGC is working closely with the Multiemployer Pension Plan
Coalition, which includes all affected unions, employers and
trustees, on this comprehensive proposal that is agreeable
to everyone.
In October, the Senate pulled from the calendar consideration
of overall pension reform legislation, which included multiemployer
plan changes.
While AGC continues to look for support and urges swift Senate
consideration this fall, it is unclear whether pension reform
will come up for a vote again in 2005.
Lookback Legislation
Lookback relief is in the works and on the way to repealing
long-term contract accounting rules that require contractors
to re-file their taxes multiple times over the course of multi-year
projects, among other burdensome requirements.
Currently, due to the complexity of lookback regulations,
contractors spend thousands of dollars to hire consultants
to file the necessary paperwork or the contractors spend hours
struggling to understand the rules.
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) recently introduced H.R. 4058 which
would eliminate lookback requirements for contracts under
36 months and raise the small business exemption required
for using the percentage of completion accounting method,
as required by Congress.
Cement
Contractors and cement makers had been reporting shortages
of cement in parts of 32 states even before Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. While the storms did little damage
to domestic production, they hit two of the biggest import
locations-the lower Mississippi and the Houston/Galveston
area.
Some cement shortages could be alleviated if the U.S. would
suspend an anti-dumping duty on Mexican cement, as AGC has
been urging.
The duty pushed up the price of Mexican cement by as much
as 55%, and with U.S. plants running flat-out, applying the
same duty-free treatment to Mexican cement that 30 other countries
already receive, would not injure U.S. producers.
Mexican cement imports would arrive faster, especially to
hurricane-stricken areas and border states that could receive
shipments by rail, instead of relying on expensive trans-Pacific
ships.
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