This week the Senate is debating the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure bill. AGC has weighed in on a few of the amendments that have been offered and is monitoring to see if they will get a vote:

On July 28, the Senate agreed, 67-32, to begin debate on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. Ahead of the vote, the bipartisan group of senators announced it had resolved all major issues on the package. As a result of this initial vote, the Senate will consider the package over the coming days and, perhaps, weeks. However, an actual legislative bill detailing what is in the package has yet-to-be released or formally introduced as of July 29. When a bill is introduced in the Senate and, if passed, the bill will head to the House of Representatives for consideration. A 57-page summary of the bipartisan infrastructure package notes how it includes funding for a host of traditional, physical infrastructure. AGC appreciates and has fought for the significant levels of investment in the package and awaits actual legislative text before considering a formal association endorsement.

On July 16, AGC submitted regulatory comments on the U.S. Treasury Department's interim final rule governing how state, local, territorial and Tribal governments can spend $350 billion from a COVID-relief fund established under President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief law: the American Rescue Plan Act. AGC’s regulatory comments urge the Department to, among other things: (1) confirm and expand eligibility for all forms of infrastructure and building construction investments and related revenue streams; and (2) drop any reporting requirements encouraging government-mandated project labor agreements, local hiring requirements and the expansion of prevailing wage laws beyond the status quo. And, in a victory for AGC and the construction industry, the Department provided new guidance clarifying that losses of revenues from gas taxes and vehicle licensing fees incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to be replenished using these recovery funds. AGC will continue to monitor the distribution of these recovery funds.

On July 14, AGC outlined its priorities for the bipartisan infrastructure package to the group of bipartisan senators who are drafting the legislation. In addition to significant investments in physical infrastructure, AGC calls for investing in the construction workforce, streamlining the federal environmental review and permitting process, improving the construction supply chain, as well as ensuring provisions restricting the expansion of highway capacity are not included. AGC and industry stakeholders continue to meet with the Senate offices working on this legislation to highlight construction industry priorities. The timing for when the legislation will be released and ultimately voted on continues to be unclear. However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said the Senate will push to vote on it before the chamber breaks for the August recess.

On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, a $715 billion federal investment in America’s roads, bridges, transit, passenger rail, and drinking and wastewater infrastructure. AGC lobbied against several of the policies included in the bill. However, its passage in the House is a first step towards enacting record levels of federal investment in infrastructure. It continues to remain unclear how this legislation will intersect with larger infrastructure package negotiations between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators. The AGC summary of the INVEST in America Act can be viewed here. AGC will continue to push for policy improvements to the bill.

On June 23, Democratic House Leadership announced it will attach $168 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure legislation to the $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill for a vote on the House floor the week of June 28.

The week of June 28, the House is set to vote on the INVEST in America Act, legislation to reauthorize the nation’s surface transportation programs. This legislation passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier in the month on a near party-line vote. In addition to the $547 billion included in the legislation for surface transportation programs, the package also includes two other bills to reauthorize the nation’s waste and drinking water programs. While AGC is supportive of the House continuing the reauthorization process, we have reservations about some of the policies contained in the bill, such as a lack of environmental review and permitting reforms and a limitation on the ability to construct new highway capacity. As the legislative process moves forward, AGC will continue to encourage House members to make necessary improvements to the bill that will address these policies concerns.

On June 23, a bipartisan group of senators announced an agreement on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure framework with the White House. The framework—found here —includes $579 billion in new spending to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, improve public transit systems, invest in broadband infrastructure, and upgrade our airports. While this plan does appear to have bipartisan support, the path forward remains unclear, as Speaker Pelosi announced that she would not move similar legislation in the House until the Senate passed both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and partisan reconciliation infrastructure bill. In addition, there are a significant amount of details that have yet to be determined.

AGC Warns of Negative Impacts on Project Delivery and Environment

Legislation would invest $40 billion in the clean water state revolving fund