More than 400 construction and business leaders from across the country convened in Washington, D.C., June 25-26 for ABC Legislative Conference 2024.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-La., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jesse Watters, host of Jesse Watters Primetime and co-host of The Five on FOX News, were among the speakers at the popular Legislative Update Breakfast on June 26. Luke Farley of ABC Carolinas member Ellis & Winters LLP, a member of ABC Carolinas, who is the Republican nominee for North Carolina labor commissioner, and Bernie Moreno, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, also addressed attendees.

Speaker Johnson thanked ABC members for their support dating back to his first run for political office. “You always remember the people who were with you from the beginning,” he said, adding that he believes help is on the way to combat the Biden administration’s efforts to weaponize the justice system and regulatory agencies.

Rep. Jim Jordan shared congressional efforts to fight for rational policies that benefit small business owners and ABC contractor members. “Thank you for what you’ve stood for, which are the right principles, like free enterprise,” said Jordan.

Jesse Watters provided members with a candid perspective on the upcoming presidential debate and 2024 elections. ABC National Chair of the Board of Directors Buddy Henley then presented Watters with the ABC Merit Champion Award as a tribute to his steadfast support of the merit shop.

After the breakfast, ABC contractor members and staff went to Capitol Hill for meetings with their federal lawmakers and staff, where they advocated for inclusive, win-win policies that create a level playing field to bid on taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects. These include the Fair and Open Competition Act; the Employee Rights Act; all-of-the-above workforce development strategies and a new market-driven visa program that addresses our legal immigration workforce needs and disincentivizes illegal immigration.

ABC members and staff also briefed lawmakers on the negative impacts of union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements; the Inflation Reduction Act; the Protecting the Right to Organize Act; new, controversial apprenticeship requirements; and other burdensome regulations that will exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage of more than half a million in 2024 and undermine taxpayer investments in infrastructure.

ABC members and staff met with dozens of lawmakers, including Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., James Comer, R-Ky., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., as well as staff of Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, Democrats of Pennsylvania and staff of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.

Finally, the conference concluded with ABC’s Free Enterprise Alliance reception that hosted two U.S. Senate candidates: former Maryland governor Larry Hogan and Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno.