On July 31, ABC submitted a letter in support of the cloture motion for the motion to proceed to H.R.7024, the American Families and Workers Act. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., extends vital tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including the deduction for research and development and the extension of the 100% bonus depreciation. Notably, this legislation maintains provisions that allow for immediate R&D expensing, which provides for lower tax bills, less paperwork and easier compliance for contractors. In addition, the legislation extends the 100% bonus depreciation that allows construction businesses to expense or write off the purchase of tools, equipment and machinery during the year of purchase.

ABC awaits the Senate's vote on the motion to proceed to H.R.7084. While the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act passed the House with bipartisan support on January 31 with a 357-70 vote, Republicans in the Senate have said that they will vote the measure down, which takes 60 voters to pass, as they anticipate having the majority next year and thus hold more negotiating power when it comes to Tax Policy.

On July 31, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing, "Long-Term Economic Benefits and Impacts from Federal Infrastructure and Public Transportation Investment." Prior to the hearing, ABC submitted a letter to the committee highlighting that the Biden-Harris administration's Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects Final Rule is undermining federal infrastructure investments. Specifically, ABC expressed concern that the rule excludes 89.3% of the private U.S. construction industry workforce, reduces competition and increases costs for the American taxpayer on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

See the full hearing here.

On March 6, ABC sent a key vote letter to the U.S. Senate urging Senators to support the U.S. House of Representatives-passed H.J. Res. 98, Joint Employer CRA resolution of disapproval. If enacted, H.J. Res. 98 would not only prevent the rule from going into effect but would also prohibit a similar rule from being issued in the future.

In October 2023, the National Labor Relations Board released their ABC-opposed joint employer final rule. The final rule rescinds and replaces the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB joint employer final rule, which provided clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status. ABC believes the new joint employer final rule will drastically alter existing contractor and subcontractor relationships in the construction industry, implementing a harsh new standard that will complicate this long-standing business arrangement and hit many smaller contractors with unsustainable legal and compliance costs.

On Jan. 12, the House passed H.J. Res 98 in a 206-177 vote, with 8 Democrats supporting. The resolution faces a more uncertain path in the Senate where a simple majority is needed to pass. Although President Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, passage in the House and Senate would send a strong message to the administration as they continue to implement harmful labor policies.

On March 6, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the DOL’s new Independent Contractor final rule.

ABC sent a letter to members of the House and Senate expressing support for the CRA resolution. ABC also joined with a coalition of business organizations drafting a letter of support for the CRA resolution.

The resolution faces an uphill battle to passage in both chambers and a likely veto from the President, however, ABC remains committed to ensuring that this issue remains a priority for Congress this session.

Learn more about this issue, including ABC’s lawsuit, above and in Newsline here.

ABC and a coalition of construction organizations have been working to oppose a planned proposal by Sens. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., dubbed the Seasonal Employer Protection Act. This new legislation is a reiteration of previously shot-down proposals that would impose harmful and unjustified restrictions on the access of the construction industry to the H-2B seasonal guest worker program.

Included in the legislation is a new requirement for employers in the construction industry to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a labor organization as a condition of receiving an H-2B temporary labor certification. This new requirement would harm the more than 88% of the construction industry that has chosen not to join a union and establish labor organizations as the gatekeepers of H-2B for construction.

ABC also issued an action alert and urges members to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives to oppose this harmful legislation.

On Oct. 25, the Senate voted 51-46 to confirm Jessica Looman as the administration of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Ahead of the vote, ABC joined the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO) in a letter to Senators, expressing concerns with WHD’s recent policy and procedural decisions under Looman’s leadership as Principal Deputy Administrator and urging them to discuss with Principal Deputy Administrator Looman and the Department of Labor the overtime proposal as part of their consideration of her nomination.

Earlier this year in a letter to the Senate HELP committee, ABC highlighted concerns from the construction industry on 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.

On Sept. 20, ABC submitted comments to the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing titled, “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for Jobseekers, Employers, and Taxpayers.” ABC’s letter calls on the committee to pursue policies that recognize the unique challenges facing the construction industry and provide employers with the tools they need to access a well-educated and dedicated workforce.

On Sept. 20, ABC submitted comments to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearing titled, “Oversight of the Department of Transportation’s Policies and Programs.” The hearing featured testimony and questions with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. ABC commented on specific DOT policies that the department is pursuing outside of congressional authorization/intent such as the significant number of Biden administration federal agency grants – totaling more than $230 billion for infrastructure projects procured by state and local governments – subject to language and policies promoting PLA mandates and preferences that will increase costs and reduce competition on federally assisted construction projects. ABC also provided comments on the ABC-opposed union labor requirements on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. The DOT NEVI Formula Program will implement provisions of the IIJA that includes $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations (including $5 billion over five years to install EV chargers mostly along interstate highways).

On Sept. 20, ABC also submitted comments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s markup of S. 2840, the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act, in support of an amendment offered by Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, R-La., that would ensure funds for construction and renovation of community health centers and other health care facilities are not subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements. The amendment faced defeat in the Democrat-controlled committee and was offered and withdrawn.

With the Corporate Transparency Act’s new reporting requirements set to take effect beginning January 1, ABC joined a letter signed by more than 80 trade associations calling on Congress to enact the Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023 (H.R. 4035). Authored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, the legislation would delay implementation of the CTA until Treasury finishes the necessary rulemaking process, giving affected businesses much-needed relief from the poorly conceived and drafted rules.

The CTA will subject tens of millions of small businesses and other entities to increased paperwork, compliance costs, privacy risks, substantial fines, and even jail.

On June 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a markup of ABC-opposed legislation including the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, Paycheck Fairness Act, and Healthy Families Act. Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee highlighting concerns with the bills marked up in committee and urging members of the committee to oppose the partisan proposals being considered. ABC also joined with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace to oppose the proposals.

The markup also considered several ABC-backed and Republican led amendments that would limit the damage of these anti-business, anti-worker legislative proposals, including amendments that would address the PRO Act’s provisions on employee privacy, independent contractors, secondary boycotts, and joint employer. Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also spoke about the ABC-supporting and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., sponsored Employee Rights Act, which would allow workers the freedom and protection they need to decide how they make a living for themselves and their families. You can view the full committee markup here.

On June 20, ABC joined two letters from coalitions of business organizations in supporting the Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense (CHOICE) Arrangement Act. The legislation would codify two of the Trump administration’s major achievements in health-care policy: a 2018 rule that permits businesses to join together to provide association health plans, and a 2019 rule that allows employers to provide tax-free contributions to employees to pay for Affordable Care Act plans in the individual market through individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs).

You can view the first letter here and the second from ABC’s Partnership for Employer Sponsored Coverage coalition here.