On April 14, ABC sent an action alert to ABC members asking them to call on their member of Congress to quickly authorize additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created under the CARES Act to provide forgivable loans to small businesses. With nearly $350 billion in small business aid estimated to run out this week, ABC is asking Congress to pass a clean bill to increase funds for the PPP, which has been a priority for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and the White House.

In response to the president’s national emergency declaration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a three-month waiver to prevent the possible shortage of commercial motor vehicle drivers and continue to allow intrastate and interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learners permit (CLP) holders to transport critical goods and supplies to businesses and individuals affected by COVID-19.

Today, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate arrived at a deal to provide approximately $2 trillion in federal funding and programs to address the ongoing health crisis. The legislation would send checks to many Americans under a certain income threshold, create a $350 billion loan program for small businesses and establish a $500 billion lending fund for industries, cities and states.

On Feb. 26, ABC sent a letter calling on Congress to consider how its infrastructure investment agenda could impact merit shop contractors and the small business community during a hearing titled Moving America’s Infrastructure Forward. Convened by U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business’ Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee, the hearing was timed to coordinate with the recent release of Democrats’ $760 billion infrastructure investm

The Construction Industry Needs to Hire an Additional 440,000 Workers in 2019 

ABC sent a letter of support to Congress urging passage of the Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act (H.R. 1740) introduced by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.). The bill would create a new visa program for non-farm, temporary foreign workers and includes important protections for employers and employees, ensuring that jobs remain available for hardworking Americans.

On March 8, H.R. 1, the For the People Act, passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives by a party line vote of 234-193. ABC sent a letter in opposition to the legislation, arguing that it is an attack on free speech and would cripple the business structure of nonprofit associations such as ABC. 

On Feb. 28, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Andrew Wheeler as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by a vote of 52 to 47. ABC sent a letter to senators in support of Wheeler’s confirmation based on his work as the acting administrator of the EPA to promote an effective environmental permitting process for construction projects, his proposal of a new Waters of the United States rule and his efforts to repeal and replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy Plan.

While construction industry leaders remained confident in the third quarter of 2018, optimism slipped relative to the second quarter, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by ABC. Approximately three in four construction firms expect that sales will continue to rise over the next six months and closer to one in 10 expect sales to decline over the next two quarters.

ABC reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator contracted to 9.04 months during the third quarter of 2018, down 8.4 percent from the second quarter and 4.3 percent lower than the same time last year. “Construction backlog reached its highest level ever during the second quarter,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.