Associated Builders and Contractors recently reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.1 months in June, an increase of 0.2 months from May’s reading. CBI is down approximately 8% from its June 2019 level. Every region except the Middle States experienced an increase in backlog in June compared to May, according to an ABC member survey conducted from June 20-July 1. 

On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, on a mostly party line vote of 233 to 188, with three Republicans voting for the bill and two Democrats voting against it. The House Democrats’ infrastructure plan would spend more than $1.5 trillion on surface transportation, airport, school, housing, healthcare, energy, water and broadband infrastructure, however, it also includes numerous anti-merit shop provisions opposed by ABC.

On June 22, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.) was joined by six other Democratic House committee chairs in a press conference releasing the  Democratic Infrastructure Bill, H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.  

On June 17, The Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422), introduced by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), was passed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 73-25. This bipartisan legislation would help address the $20 billion deferred maintenance backlog in the Department of the Interior, $12 billion of which is accumulated by the National Park Service, creating thousands of construction jobs in the process.

On June 10, ABC’s Construction Executive magazine held a webinar featuring ABC chief economist Anirban Basu that focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic has rocked a nearly invincible economy, wreaking havoc on the construction industry, and how the current recession might dovetail into prospective growth in the future.

On June 4, President Trump signed executive order 13927, which directs federal agencies to expedite the delivery of transportation infrastructure projects, an action ABC said will streamline permitting and facilitate infrastructure improvements while protecting the environment, health and safety.

On May 27, ABC joined more than 200 organizations calling on Congress to quickly enact temporary and targeted liability relief legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort spearheaded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

All Construction Executive readers are invited to register for an exclusive Mid-Year Economic Outlook webinar featuring Anirban Basu, the chief economist to Associated Builders and Contractors. Basu, known for his entertaining delivery and sharp assessments of the economic state of the industry, will provide a candid assessment of the market impact of COVID-19 crisis on the construction sector for the rest of 2020.

On May 1, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works advocating for improvements to draft legislation that is being considered by the committee, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 and the

On April 14, President Donald Trump announced that ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman was named to one of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, which will work together with the White House towards the stated goal of “charting the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity.”