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 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 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, 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 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 March 24, ABC joined a coalition of national, state and local trade associations in a letter to the President, urging the administration’s active engagement with the parties to help them reach a final contract, bring the negotiations to a close and end the uncertainty surrounding the operations of the West Coast ports. West Coast port labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have been ongoing since May 2022 with the lack of a solution resulting in a decrease in cargo volumes at West Coast ports, in part to avoid the potential fall-out should the ongoing talks fail.

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 White House releases the President’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which renews calls for tax hikes to support Democrats federal spending priorities in the coming years. ABC joined a broad coalition of organizations in a letter opposing the president’s tax hikes, which would hit small businesses the hardest.

While the president’s budget is not typically approved by Congress, it highlights the administration’s priorities for the coming year and provides a blueprint for his message should he decide to seek another term in office. Throughout the budget proposal, the President also calls for the creation of union only jobs on critical federal construction projects, alluding to the administration’s continued support for ABC-opposed policies that will limit job-opportunities for hard-working Americans in the construction industry.