Federal Contractor Report

AGC Vice President Bob Lanham was one of three stakeholder representatives to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee about the need to provide much-needed funding to address the nation’s transportation and infrastructure needs, specifically the Highway Trust Fund’s revenue shortfall. The other representatives were from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Sacramento (CA) Area Council of Governments.

 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or Corps) provided AGC and other stakeholders with an update on its efforts to “revolutionize USACE civil works,” highlighting three main objectives: (1) accelerate project delivery, (2) transform financing and budgeting, and (3) improve permitting and regulation reform. The Nov. 29 webinar meeting (click here for the slides) was a follow-up to a roundtable discussion held this spring at Corps’ headquarters and a request for public input on existing USACE regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification. During each and every opportunity, AGC has provided the Corps with comprehensive comments, both in writing and during face-to-face meetings. Below is a listing of the Corps’ recent accomplishments to speed up Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting – as well as several key actions in progress – demonstrating that AGC’s input in being heard and acted upon.

 

AGC along with the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) successfully advocated for CGA’s underground utility safety and damage prevention Best Practices to be OSHA recognized. These best practices are now included in an OSHA Instruction on the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. This means that contractors have an OSHA-recognized best practices guide for meeting trenching and damage prevention requirement.

 

A recent U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision found that critical habitat must be actual habitat for a species and that decisions not to exclude areas from critical habitat are subject to judicial review—a ruling that many are heralding as a check on regulatory overreach. In Weyerhaeuser Co. v. the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the plaintiff challenged the FWS on its designation of an unoccupied area, not currently habitable to the species, as critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog. The Fifth Circuit court deferred to the Service. However, SCOTUS remanded the case back to the circuit court to determine the meaning of “habitat” specific to the facts in this case and whether FWS’s designation of critical habitat was “arbitrary and capricious.”

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is piloting a new inspection policy that addresses several long-standing concerns of AGC and has the potential to improve the enforcement process and overall industry compliance. Similarly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced changes to enforcement policies regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing set forth in the 2015 memorandum from then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, “Yates Memo.”

Kevin Brady, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, introduced a tax package that House Republicans hope to see included in a final, end-of-year legislative package. By introducing the tax package now, Chairman Brady is hoping to see a number of his tax priorities included in the negotiated spending agreement that Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shutdown.Included in the tax package are a number of AGC-supported provisions.

 

The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans had until Nov. 30 to issue recommendations for an overhaul of the nation’s pension system, however, they issued a statement declaring a legislative solution will not be found by the deadline. The statement does highlight the need to find a solution and they pledge to continue to work together. At this point a timeframe for any future action remains uncertain but AGC is committed to finding legislative solutions to advance our priorities.

 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released guidance clarifying that a tax limitation included in last year’s tax reform law was not intended to apply to infrastructure-related public private partnerships (P3s). In May, AGC joined industry allies in providing comments to the IRS expressing our concern that Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code may have the unintended consequence of creating a substantial disincentive for private investment in public infrastructure through the use of P3s because of substantially increased costs.

 

 

Each year around this time, AGC asks you – our members – to predict what next year will be like for your business. AGC has partnered with Sage to prepare questions that focus on expectations for market performance, hiring, labor market conditions, etc. Please take a moment to complete the survey here. For more information, contact Nahee Rosso at chon@agc.org or (703) 837-5348.