On July 11, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee held a full committee markup of numerous health care bills aimed at expanding access to health savings accounts (HSAs) and lowering health care premiums for American employers and employees.

The White House celebrated the six-month anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by hosting an event on Friday, June 29. ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman attended on behalf of the merit shop contracting community, acknowledging the positive effects of the tax code reform. At the event, President Trump took a moment to recognize ABC and several others as significant supporters who helped pass the legislation. 

ABC is thrilled to announce that Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, will join Josh Kraushaar, political editor of National Journal, as the headline speakers for the Legislative Breakfast on Wednesday, June 27. 

The Michigan Legislature voted to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law, a 50-year-old law that overcharges taxpayers on public construction projects and limits competitive bidding opportunities for Michigan workers. The historic vote makes Michigan the 24th state without a prevailing wage law. 

On Friday, June 1, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would provide an additional 15,000 H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers. Earlier this year, Congress included a provision in the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending bill that allowed for DHS to increase the number of H-2B visas above the 66,000 statutory cap.

On May 16, ABC Legislative Affairs staff participated in the Prior Approval Reform Coalition Hill Day and met with members of Congress about the discriminatory and burdensome “prior approval” requirement for corporate member trade association political action committees. The coalition met with 99 members’ offices and encouraged representatives to sign on as cosponsors to Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R-Nev.) H.R. 2101, the Prior Approval Reform Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released several videos that will assist employers with complying with the requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

On March 28, Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) signed legislation into law that will combat the current construction industry labor shortage in Wisconsin. The new law prevents more than one journeyman being required to oversee the work of an apprentice. 

On March 13, a bipartisan group of ten U.S. Representatives visited the ABC Metro Washington Chapter’s CraftMasters Training Trust. House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) led the delegation to the 10,000-square-foot facility in Beltsville, Md., and met with Chapter President Debbie Livingston, instructors and enrollees in the programs. 

On March 7, 2018, ABC was part of a coalition that sent a letter to congressional appropriators asking them to include language in the omnibus spending bill that defunds the enforcement of the “prior authorization” requirement for trade association Political Action Committees.