On September 13, ABC submitted comments to the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing titled, “The Inflation Reduction Act: A Year in Review.” ABC’s letter expressed our concerns about anti-competitive and inflationary policy in the IRA that grants developers of clean energy construction projects a bonus tax credit 500% greater than a baseline tax credit of 6% conditioned on satisfying controversial prevailing wage and government-registered apprenticeship requirements.

On May 30, ABC announced its support for the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the bipartisan negotiated deal to raise the debt limit, reduce the federal deficit, cut federal spending, and streamline permitting for critical infrastructure projects. In a letter to Congress, ABC highlighted the bill’s significant permitting reforms, including key provisions from the ABC-supported the BUILDER Act (H.R. 1577) that will modernize the National Environmental Policy Act requirements for the first time in decades, and expanding the FAST-41 program to expedite the construction of more energy storage infrastructure projects. Additionally, the bill codifies key elements of the ABC-supported One Federal Decision framework, which will establish lead agency authority, set reasonable time limits for environmental reviews and apply page limits for permitting documents.

On April 25, ABC sent a letter of support for House Republican Leadership’s proposal to increase the debt ceiling while tackling Washington spending in a proposal that would save $4.5 trillion through slowed growth in government spending and cuts to priorities of the Biden administration.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act would establish spending levels for fiscal year 2024 at FY22 levels and allow only for 1% annual growth over the next 10 years, in exchange for raising the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. You can view a one-pager of the bill.

The bill also goes after the White House’s priorities, including rescinding funding under the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, tax and spend reconciliation package from last year for IRS enforcement funding that will burden American taxpayers and small businesses with more audits and increased compliance costs; repealing ABC-opposed IRA energy tax credits that include burdensome and discriminatory prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements; ending the President’s executive action on student loan forgiveness; and reclaiming unspent COVID funds.

Additionally, the bill includes ABC-supported legislation, the REINS Act to block excessively burdensome agency rules and regulations, and H.R. 1 to unleash America’s energy production and ensure American energy independence.

On April 19, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on “The U.S. Tax Code Subsidizing Green Corporate Handouts and the Chinese Communist Party.” The hearing focused on the tax breaks included in the partisan Inflation Reduction Act that was passed through the reconciliation process last Congress. The committee highlighted the tax credits increased expected cost to taxpayers, and the ability of foreign countries, including China, and larger corporations to benefit from these tax credits at the expense of taxpayers and smaller businesses throughout the country. Reports have indicated that Republicans in the House are considering a repeal of these tax credits as part of the negotiations surrounding the debt limit.

ABC submitted comments to the committee highlighting concerns with the IRA energy tax credits and the “bonus rate” tied to prevailing age and registered apprenticeships requirements. ABC believes that repealing these ill-advised tax credits will not only save taxpayer dollars but will also give Congress a new opportunity to work toward bipartisan energy incentivizes to unleash America’s potential and allow our entire qualified construction workforce to meaningfully participate in critical projects across the country.

On April 18, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to override President Joe Biden’s veto of H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC has key voted today’s vote and issued an action alert.

President Biden vetoed H.J. Res. 27, which passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support. While the override is unlikely to garner the 2/3 vote of the chamber required, this resolution rebukes the Biden administration’s flawed, burdensome and overreaching WOTUS rule that will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The Biden WOTUS rule is set to cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, increased permitting and mitigation costs, and make it more difficult and expensive to grow food, produce energy and build critical infrastructure for the 21st century.

On March 29, ABC sent a key vote letter to the House supporting H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. H.R. 1 is top priority legislation for the 118th Congress and contains several permitting reform provisions, including the ABC-supported BUILDER Act, which will go a long way toward eliminating unnecessary delays that cause budget overruns in construction. The BUILDER Act codifies key elements of the One Federal Decision Framework, including development by the lead agency of a joint schedule; procedures to elevate delays or disputes; preparation of a single environmental impact statement; and joint Record of Decision—all to the extent practicable, set, reasonable time limits are imposed for environmental reviews and establish reasonable page limits for environmental documents. Additionally, the energy and commerce division of H.R. 1 focuses on expanding American energy production potential by repealing the natural gas tax and the green bank provisions of the reckless tax and spend Inflation Reduction Act.

ABC also issued an action alert in support of the bill.

On March 9, the House passed H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC key voted the resolution which passed by a bipartisan 227-198 vote, with nine Democrats joining Republicans in support and only one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, opposing.

The Biden Administration’s flawed, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The rule will cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, plus increased permitting and mitigation costs.

On March 9, the House is scheduled to consider H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation.

The Biden Administration’s flawed, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The rule will cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, plus increased permitting and mitigation costs.

On Feb. 27, ABC joined broad coalition of industry stakeholders in support of the CRA during committee consideration, and will be key voting this resolution for our scorecard on the 118th Congress.

On Feb. 7, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing titled, “Stakeholder Perspectives on Impacts of the Biden Administration’s Water of the United States Rule.” Prior to the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the subcommittee expressing opposition to the Biden Administration’s WOTUS Rule, and also issued a statement of support for a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the Biden Administration’s flawed and burdensome “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule (H.J. Res. 27). An identical measure was also introduced in the Senate by 49 Senators, led by Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va.