ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman made a live appearance on Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co." show on October 17th. The one-on-one interview focused on the U.S. Department of Labor's Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion that Bellaman was appointed to the day before. Watch a clip of Bellaman's appearance here.

Michael D. Bellaman, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), has been appointed by U.S. Department of Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta  to the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, created by President Trump’s June 15 Executive Order 13801.

Lithko Contracting LLC of Raleigh, N.C., a member of ABC’s Carolinas Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

ABC has added Rocky Mountain Chapter member Dennis Walker of United Rentals to the Beam Club Presidential level. The Beam Club was established in 1966 to recognize ABC’s top membership recruiters for their commitment to growing the association. By recruiting five new members, ABC members are automatically enrolled in the Beam Club by their chapter.

ABC joined dozens of business organizations nationwide to call on Congress to support meaningful tax reform in a full-page advertisement in the Oct. 11 edition of The Hill. The ad, an open letter to Congress, cited a recent national poll of small business owners showing that a majority would use tax cut savings to create jobs, raise wages and move into new product fields. The letter was signed by ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman along with the CEOs of the Florida East Coast, Florida First Coast and Rocky Mountain chapters.

On Oct. 4, the U.S. Treasury Department released a report announcing plans to withdraw its proposed regulations under Section 2704 of the Internal Revenue Code, entitled Estate, Gift and Generation-skipping Transfer Taxes: Restrictions on Liquidation of an Interest. The proposed rule was issued Aug. 4, 2016, during the Obama administration. 

Kuck Mechanical Contractors LLC of Loveland, Colo., a member of ABC’s Rocky Mountain Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.  

In move to relieve regulations and ensure affordable energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a proposal to repeal the Obama-era “Clean Power Plan.” On Aug. 3, 2015, President Obama’s EPA announced a final rule to cut power plant carbon emissions that would increase compliance and transaction costs and limit access to affordable energy for many hardworking Americans and U.S. businesses. However, since the issuance of the final rule, the regulation has not yet taken effect and is currently tied up in federal appeals court.

On Sept. 29, ABC joined the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC) in support of H.R. 3711, the Legal Workforce Act. H.R. 3711, which would mandate an improved E-Verify program on all employers and for all new hires.  

On Oct. 14, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce reported H.R. 3441, the Save Local Business Act favorably out of committee with a final vote of 23-17. On Oct. 4, ABC sent a letter to Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, thanking them for holding a markup of this legislation.