ABC praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441) this week with bipartisan support. ABC joined forces with a wide range of business advocacy groups, including the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and the Coalition to Save Local Businesses, to build support for the ultimate passage of H.R. 3441. 

A new study from the Beacon Hill Institute (BHI) for Public Policy Research shows the economy and the construction industry would benefit if Congress passed the Public Building Renewal Act (PBRA).

Any additional dollar that can stay in a construction company's cash flow can be invested in hiring and retaining talented workers. That was one of the messages ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman conveyed this week during two live Fox Business Network appearances, as the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled a bill that reforms the tax code. 

ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman joined President Donald Trump and other business leaders at the White House Tuesday to discuss their support for tax reform legislation. At the meeting, President Trump outlined the necessity for tax reform, and thanked the organizations present for supporting the unified tax framework. 

On Oct. 17, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced a short-term deal aimed at stabilizing the individual health insurance market and lowering the costs of premiums.

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 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. 

On Sept. 26, U.S. Senate leadership announced there will not be a vote on the latest version of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal bill. Named after its four sponsors, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill aimed to repeal parts of the ACA and change its federal funding system with annual block grants to states to help individuals pay for health care.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018, which provides $1.1 trillion in discretionary funding for the federal government through 12 individual appropriations bills.