Last week the House Appropriations Committee and House Ways and Means Committee approved their portions of the $825 billion economic recovery bill, clearing the measure for full House consideration. The full House is expected to vote on final passage tomorrow (Jan. 28).
Whether you attended the recent AGC Building Contractors Conference in La Quinta, CA or wish you did, you will certainly find the presentations from the Conference to be of interest.
John Tocci Sr., chair of the AGC BIMForum, was named one of the Top 25 Newsmakers of 2008 by Engineering News-Record (ENR) in its January 12, 2009 issue.
By a party line vote, the House Ways and Means Committee on January 22 passed the tax component of the economic stimulus bill, clearing the measure for House floor consideration.
Dr. Stephen S. Fuller of George Mason University testified on behalf of AGC before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday.
Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) Wednesday introduced S.292, a bill to repeal the 3 percent tax withholding requirement set to go into effect in 2011.
More than 120 attendees participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference held January 7-10 in La Quinta, Calif. This conference brought together many of the top building construction firms, service and supply companies, design professionals and owners. Attendees benefited from presentations and discussions on topics such as Integrated Project Delivery, the economic outlook, diversity, surety issues, green building construction, contract documents and renewable energy, in addition to networking opportunities with colleagues at evening receptions, luncheons, and the golf tournament. The luncheon featured keynote speaker Steve Sandherr, AGC CEO, who provided an update on the economic stimulus proposals and other tax, labor and environmental issues that are important to building contractors, as well as an overview of the new Administration and 111th Congress. The AGC BIMForum Meeting was also held in La Quinta January 8-9 with the theme "The Path to IPD." More than 170 attendees actively participated in two full days of presentations and working sessions. For more information about the AGC BIMForum, please go to www.bimforum.org. Don't forget to save the dates for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference June 10-13, 2009, at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., and the AGC BIMForum Meeting May 28-29, 2009, at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas in Dallas, Texas.For more information, contact Mike Stark at (703) 837-5365 or starkm@agc.org.
AGC of America is working to unite building, highway, and water groups to talk about the stimulus we can deliver. We are pushing for as much stimulus as possible for vertical and horizontal construction using as many existing programs as possible to aide quick stimulus.
An AGC-led coalition of more than 16 organizations in the building design and construction industry sent two letters two Congress and the President-elect last week. The first letter focused on including infrastructure investment in a stimulus and the identified needs in the different building markets. The coalition also sent a letter of tax incentives that would stimulate the economy, improve energy efficiency, and create job opportunities in a stimulus package.To view the letters or to view the broad based organizations in the building design and construction industry that signed the letters follow the links: Tax Letter, Infrastructure Letter.In addition, the coalition placed an advertisement Wednesday in Roll Call, the widest-read publication on Capitol Hill.If you have any questions please contact Jeff Shoaf at (202) 547-3350 or shoafj@agc.org.
On January 15, the House Democratic Leadership announced details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Details of the $825 billion package were released by the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. The total package consists of $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in targeted investments, coupled with several unprecedented accountability measures. AGC estimates that approximately $150 billion of the spending proposed in this bill would benefit the construction industry.