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 May 18, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing on “Tax Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.” ABC submitted a statement for the record to the committee highlighting concerns with the burdensome and discriminatory prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements that will limit opportunities for many construction apprentices in nonregistered programs and place a strain on developers and contractors grappling with a shortage of more than 500,000 workers in the construction industry. You can read the full letter here.

On May 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service also released additional guidance on the IRA’s domestic content bonus tax credits. The May 12 guidance states that taxpayers may receive another 10% tax credit increase for meeting domestic content requirements. All steel and iron on a project must be 100% produced in the United States to meet this requirement. Additionally, between 40% to 55%, depending on project type and the year construction begins, of the total cost of other components and subcomponents used on the project must be attributable to components that are mined, produced or manufactured in the United States in order to receive this bonus. The IRS previously requested comments on these requirements, and ABC provided feedback regarding industry concerns about supply chain issues and cost increases that may be caused by these domestic content requirements in comments to Treasury and the IRS.

On May 18, Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont. introduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act. The bill would prevent rate hikes on America’s individually and family-owned businesses by making permanent the Section 199A 20-percent deduction. This deduction was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025.

The introduction of this legislation was widely anticipated in the business community, and ABC joined with more than 140 trade associations representing millions of Main Street businesses in a strong letter of support for the legislation.

ABC joined more than 30 organizations in a letter opposing the nomination of Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor. ABC previously sent a letter opposing Su’s nomination and raising her questionable record over the past years as Deputy Secretary and her previous role in California.

Su’s nomination is currently stalled in the Senate as Republicans are united in opposition and moderate Democrats remain hesitant to support her while the White House is attempting a last-ditch effort to get her across the finish line.

On March 8, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing titled “Defending the Right of Workers to Organize Unions Free from Illegal Corporate Union-Busting,” which will highlight the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act, sponsored by the HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. ABC sent a letter to the committee ahead of tomorrow’s hearing highlighting the most dangerous provisions of the bill and the negative effects they would have on the construction industry and the economy.

While the bill has been reintroduced, with Republicans in control of the U.S. House it will not come up for a vote as it has in previous years and will not meet the 60-vote threshold requirement for passage in the U.S. Senate.

View ABC’s Press Release on the bill here.

On April 25, Senator Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., introduced the Save Local Business Act to make clear that an employer may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee only if such employer directly, actually, and immediately exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. ABC joined a coalition in support of the legislation, and issued a statement of support for the bill:

“The Save Local Business Act would combat destructive efforts to alter the long-standing joint employer standard and undermine the traditional business relationships between contractors and subcontractors. This legislation would ensure much-needed clarity, protect construction workers’ ability to own their own business and allow hundreds of thousands of small and local businesses throughout the country to continue to grow American jobs and help our economy thrive.” – Kristen Swearingen, Associated Builders and Contractors vice president of legislative & political affairs

On April 19, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., reintroduced the ABC-supported Employee Rights Act. The Employee Rights Act stands in stark contrast to the ABC-opposed PRO Act and would strengthen the rights, flexibility and privacy protections of workers. In the face of the Biden administration—through the National Labor Relations Board and U.S. Department of Labor—seeking to implement provisions of the PRO Act through regulatory action, the ERA would prevent this executive overreach through ensuring the use of secret ballots in union elections; stimulating local businesses and entrepreneurship opportunities; defending worker choice and independent contractors; protecting workers from unwanted political exploitation; and safeguarding employee privacy.

ABC signed a letter of support for the bill, which also received support letters from the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and a diverse coalition of associations and organizations.

ABC also issued a press release highlighting our support for the ERA, and an action alert urging members of Congress to cosponsor the bill.

On April 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor. Su, who was approved as the No. 2 at Labor by the Senate last Congress in a party line 50-47 vote, previously served as California Labor Secretary. Before holding the Secretary of Labor role in California, Su also served as California Labor Commissioner from 2011 through 2018. Su was also one of the top architects of California’s controversial Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) law, which instituted an arbitrary and vague three-stage, “ABC” test to prove a worker is an independent contractor instead of an employee.

On April 17, ABC sent a letter, notifying the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee of our opposition to Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor.

On March 30, ABC joined a coalition of trade and business organizations in a letter to the committee raising considerable questions around the nomination of Su and her questionable record over the past years as Deputy Secretary and her previous role in California, and urging the committee to question Su on the current challenges facing the Department of Labor and the workforce in the United States.

ABC believes that during her time as Deputy Secretary, Ms. Su has shown she is unwilling or unable to consider the concerns of thousands of our nation’s small business and millions of workers who face daunting challenges under the DOL’s current regulatory agenda. Without assurances from Ms. Su that the voices of the majority of small businesses will be heard at DOL, ABC will be forced to continue to raise serious concerns with her nomination.

On March 29, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., reintroduced his legislation to permanently repeal the estate tax. As part of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, ABC joined other trade organizations in a letter supporting the bill’s reintroduction and the significant relief it would provide to family-owned businesses.

On Feb. 15, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on the nomination of Jessica Looman to serve as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor. Looman currently serves as the Principal Deputy Administrator of WHD, and before joining WHD, served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council. In a letter to the committee, ABC highlighted concerns from the construction industry on forthcoming rulemakings, such as independent contractor, overtime and radical reforms to Davis-Bacon regulations that will increase the cost of taxpayer-funded construction projects and discourage small businesses from rebuilding America, and urged the committee to obtain clear commitments from Ms. Looman as the agency considers these new rules.

Republican Ranking Member on the Committee Sen. Bill Cassidy, La., also announced his opposition to Ms. Looman following the hearing