Federal Contractors Conference
In-Person on November 8-9, 2021
Register today for the 2021 AGC Federal Contractors Conference taking place November 8-9, 2021 in-person in Washington, D.C. The Federal Contractors Conference is the premier conference for federal construction contractors to discuss the latest projects, policies and contracting issues facing the industry with federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facility Engineering Command, General Services Administration, and Small Business Administration.
In addition to substantive discussions and presentations with federal agencies, attendees will hear from experts about the latest federal regulations that will impact their businesses and may have the opportunity to continue a dialogue with federal agencies after the conference. And, when the conference concludes, AGC member attendees will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing dialogue and meetings with agency headquarters later in the year.
In addition to substantive discussions and presentations with federal agencies, attendees will hear from experts about the latest federal regulations that will impact their businesses and may have the opportunity to continue a dialogue with federal agencies after the conference. And, when the conference concludes, AGC member attendees will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing dialogue and meetings with agency headquarters later in the year.
Visit https://fedcon.agc.org to view the full article online.
Federal Government
On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, a $715 billion federal investment in America’s roads, bridges, transit, passenger rail, and drinking and wastewater infrastructure. AGC lobbied against several of the policies included in the bill. However, its passage in the House is a first step towards enacting record levels of federal investment in infrastructure. It continues to remain unclear how this legislation will intersect with larger infrastructure package negotiations between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators. The AGC summary of the INVEST in America Act can be viewed here. AGC will continue to push for policy improvements to the bill. For more information, contact Alex Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org.
Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2021/07/01/house-passes-715-billion-highway-transit-water-infrastructure-bill to view the full article online.
Despite the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, the construction industry is expected to experience low unemployment with little expectation that the current domestic workforce can alone meet future employment demand. Compounding the workforce challenges in the industry, currently the nation’s system provides the high-tech sector, agricultural businesses, and seasonal employers with options for legal, work-authorized immigrants; however, it does not for the construction Industry. On June 30, the AGC-backed Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act was recently introduced in the House and would allow contractors to hire year-round construction guest workers, who otherwise have no legal immigration avenue; provide industries, like construction, access to new temporary workers while protecting American jobs; and, alleviate incentives for individuals to illegally enter the country.
AGC will continue to urge Congress to act on realistic, bipartisan immigration solutions such as border security and protecting the legal status of work authorized-Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders.
Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2021/07/01/immigration-bill-introduced-address-workforce-challenges-construction to view the full article online.
Federal Agencies
On June 22, AGC of America’s Federal & Heavy Construction division met with the Pre-Command Course for incoming District Commanders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. AGC and the Army Corps discussed solutions to the challenges facing our nation’s infrastructure and how the Army Corps can better partner with the construction industry. AGC emphasized the strain contractors are facing with construction materials at record high prices and the continued availability challenges. AGC urged District Commanders to partner with AGC Chapters and member contractors back in their district offices, and also providing government guidance encouraging such meetings. AGC looks forward to continuing its decades long partnership with the Army Corps to ensure the delivery of high-quality facilities and infrastructure and will help ensure a brighter future for the construction industry, the Army Corps, and our nation. For more information, contact jordan.howard@agc.org or (703) 837-5368.
Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2021/06/24/agc-meets-new-district-commanders-us-army-corps-discussed-need-partnering-and to view the full article online.
Learn more at July 20-22 virtual conference, free to AGC members
The Biden Administration reinstated the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Social Cost of Carbon (or Greenhouse Gases, SC-GHG) and set a deadline to publish final values by Jan. 2022. Currently, the SC-GHG values are used by federal agencies in decision-making and cost-benefit analyses of new rulemakings. The IWG chose the Obama Administration’s values as an interim measure. AGC joined a coalition to provide substantive recommendations to the IWG on the steps ahead to ensure a clear and transparent process with full engagement. The coalition urged the IWG to keep the focus of SC-GHG to the intended use, improve modeling/assumptions, address uncertainty, follow OMB guidance for evaluating opportunity costs, fix its analysis of intergenerational issues, and put global externalities into context.
Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2021/06/24/agc-responds-bidens-administrations-reformulating-social-cost-greenhouse-gases to view the full article online.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) intends to withdraw the “Loan Necessity Questionnaire” that has heavily burdened and delayed all applications for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $2 million or more. AGC sued SBA last December for developing the form entirely in secret, and without public input, and for using the form to change the de facto requirements for the forgiveness of such loans. During lawsuit settlement negotiations, AGC learned of SBA’s decision to withdraw the questionnaire. Recently, AGC has also received an exceptionally large number of reports about SBA approving these loans for forgiveness. This is excellent news for the thousands of AGC members who accepted such loans in good faith in order to keep their people working.
Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2021/06/24/sba-withdraw-loan-necessity-questionnaire-wake-agc-lawsuit to view the full article online.
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Workforce
The survey will close on August 13
The construction industry has experienced some very significant and sudden changes during the past few months that have led to dramatic changes in demand for work and the need for new workers. We need to understand exactly how those changes are impacting the industry’s current workforce needs to be better able to advocate for measures to help the industry’s labor needs in both the short- and long-term. That is why we are asking you to take a few minutes to complete the following workforce survey that we and our partners at Autodesk have prepared. The more people understand the scope, and consequences, of current labor market conditions, the more likely they are to enact measures to help meet the industry’s needs. The more members who take the survey, the better able we all will be to describe labor market conditions where you operate.
Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YTLSH7N to view the full article online.
Upcoming Events
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ngc-fcreport/articles/index.asp?aid=685316&issueID=80184 to view the full article online.
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AGC News
Event will take place on October 13 in St. Louis, Missouri
Registration is now open for AGC of America’s inaugural National Construction Industry Workforce Summit. The summit, which is taking place on October 13 in St. Louis, Missouri, is designed to bring together leaders in the construction and workforce development community to focus on establishing solutions to chronic worker shortages. During this day-long summit, construction and workforce development professionals will learn about successful programs that are helping recruit, develop and retain high-quality construction professionals. The goals of the summit are to identify a more consistent approach that industry should take to improve the workforce pipeline, leverage existing strategies proven successful, and make connections that provide support and resources to attendees to continue addressing workforce development issues long after the summit ends. You can find more details about the summit here. Contact Brian Turmail at brian.turmail@agc.org or (703) 459-0238 for more information.
Visit https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=628062&token=33b56e80cc61fdc2ccf979491e3a326978707c472285216aa330c6920cb5f332-MjAyMS0wNyM2MGU1YzNlNmI3ZTBj&crm=1&session_variable=public to view the full article online.
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September 21-23, Orlando, FL
AGC is excited to announce that the full agenda for the 2021 AGC Annual Convention is now available. From risk management strategies to safety innovations on the jobsite to emerging cyber risks in construction, you'll find this year’s convention agenda packed with experts from across the industry delivering topics to help every level of your organization build better.
For more details visit http://convention.agc.org.
Visit http://convention.agc.org to view the full article online.
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In part two of this series, we explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can streamline critical construction project workflows by automating time-consuming and repetitive processes like building a submittal log and tracking changes to specs over the course of a project. Bryan Rumple of Mortenson and Sameer Merchant of Autodesk Construction Solutions discuss document management challenges and how AI technology can improve productivity and reduce project risk.
Visit https://soundcloud.com/agcofamerica/how-advances-in-artificial-intelligence-are-benefiting-construction-part-2 to view the full article online.
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The July/August 2021 issue of Constructor magazine is now available! In this issue, we're talking about AGC's upcoming Annual Convention, the association's first major in-person event since the pandemic started. Will We See You in Orlando?
Other highlights include:
• AGC Houston Takes the Lead in Getting Workers Vaccinated
• Double Duty: Digital Twinning Technology Streamlines Communication
• Construction Law: What's Trending?
Visit https://www.constructor-digital.com/ngcs/0421_july_august_2021/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1705427#articleId1705427 to view the full article online.
