As a member of the National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, AGC and other member organizations will send a joint letter to Congress next week to make Congress aware of concerns with the Healthy Families Act.  The legislation, which was recently introduced, would require employers with 15 or more employees to allow all employees to earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. 

The bill would allow workers to begin accruing leave time on their first day of employment and become eligible to use the time after 60 days. This approach would require a one-size-fits-all paid sick leave package of 56 hours and limit an employer's flexibility in creating a benefits package that would meet the needs of the construction industry's unique workforce. In addition, this would have a significant bureaucratic impact on employers by requiring them to create a new system to track accruals of paid sick leave time.

The House Education and Labor Committee is expected to pass this bill sometime this summer. Senate action is unclear at this point.

On Thursday, June 18, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed S. 787 the Clean Water Restoration Act.  The legislation was offered as an amendment sponsored by Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Senator Max Baucus(D-Mont.) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Republican committee members criticized the bill as a substantial expansion of federal jurisdiction over water by removing the term "navigable" waterways.  Ranking Member Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Senator John Barasso (R-Wyo.) offered multiple unsuccessful amendments to address "negative impacts" on rural and agricultural communities.

In a June 17, 2009, letter to EPW Committee members, AGC opposed this legislation because it gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction over all wet areas-however remote or intermittent-and over all activities (e.g., construction) affecting those waters. Consequently, the bill would require construction contractors and project owners to obtain and be regulated by federal Clean Water Act permits far more frequently than is currently required.

AGC will continue to fight this legislation as it is considered by the full Senate, which is uncertain. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) have placed "holds" on the legislation, making it unlikely that it will see floor timein the near future. Similar legislation in the House of Representatives has yet to be introduced, however T&I Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) has indicated his support for similar legislation in the House of Representatives.

This week the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began the process of working through the 600 page draft health care reform bill.  The process began slowly and many Republican Senators are hung up on the preliminary cost estimate of the bill, which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will increase the federal budget deficit over the next ten years by $1 trillion. The agency added that the bill would leave 37 million Americans uninsured over that time.  The Committee had attempted to begin the multi-week review of the legislation with the less controversial components, however the costs of the program continues to dominate the debate. The committee has yet to address or offer draft legislation of a public plan or an employer mandate, which are expected to be the most contentious issues.

The Senate Finance Committee intended to begin debating their own version of health care reform legislation, however, leaders have delayed the debate until after the July 4th break. Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will focus time on reining in the cost of the bill from a projected $1.6 trillion to under $1 trillion prior to working on the legislation.  It is expected that the Senate Finance Committee may produce the most bipartisan proposal of the ones Congress is contemplating.

In the House, the three committees of jurisdiction, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor Committees, are planning to release their own draft legislation as early as late this week followed by hearings next week.  It is expected that the three committee proposal will require Americans to have health care coverage and a public option.

This week AGC sent a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee outlining some issues to consider during the health care debate. Click here to view the letter.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides significant funding for states to finance high priority infrastructure projects needed to ensure clean water and safe drinking water. The Act also includes "Buy American" provisions that require Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) projects to use domestic iron, steel, and manufactured goods. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will sponsor a webcast from 2:00-4:00 (EST) on Monday, June 22 to discuss how the ARRA Buy American provisions will affect the implementation of CWSRF and DWSRF projects. This event is free of charge and is provided for the benefit of SRF assistance recipients and contractors, consultants, and manufacturers involved in SRF projects. The webcast will also include opportunities for participants to submit questions on Buy American issues.  

To register for this webcast, copy and paste the link below into your Internet Explorer web browser: https://www.eventbuilder.com/event_desc.asp?p_event=4o12b5j3

Note: If you have any technical difficulties questions about the registration process, please contact EventBuilder's customer care line at 1-800-290-5900.

Attend AGC's Safety & Health meeting July 22-24 in Washington, D.C., and get the latest updates on congressional activity that directly effects construction safety and health. Join more than 150 industry professionals to discuss the latest concerns facing the construction industry and network with seasoned safety experts.  

Participants will assist in the development of regulatory and legislative activity on a national and local level as well as new safety training programs and products.  Attendees will hear the latest initiatives from OSHA and other industry experts while also making visits to Capitol Hill.

The hotel deadline is June 22.  Register at www.agc.org/safetymeeting.

An AGC Environmental Network and Navigant Consulting, Inc Webinar 

Gain insight into the Green Incentives and Sustainability policies contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 during this webinar, hosted by AGC's Environmental Network and Navigant Consulting, Inc., June 25, 1:30-3:00 pm ET.

Learn the details of the sustainable and green provisions outlined in the ARRA as well as the potential impact on construction project financing and lending standards. Information will be provided on the current credit and lending issues as well as the impact on financing contained in portions of the ARRA, specifically green incentives. Register here.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established an energy and renewable energy worker training program through a provision known as the Green Jobs Act, which would limit training grant funding only to entities that coordinate with labor organizations.  AGC is supportive of the creation of such a grant program as part of an effort to create an efficient and renewable energy-skilled workforce.  However, AGC believes that the opportunity to qualify for such grants should be open to all contractors, both union and open shop, with accredited training programs. 

This week, a bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate that would open up the Green Jobs Act to allow any contractor, regardless of union affiliation, with an accredited training program to compete for grants under the Green Jobs Act.  This bill mirrors legislation introduced earlier this year in the House (H.R. 2026) by Congressman Jon Kline (R-Minn.).

Draft legislation to change the H2B Visa program has been circulated and is expected to be introduced in the House this month.   The H2B Visa is currently the only visa available to the construction industry to bring in workers from outside the United States.  Just 66,000 H2B visas are permitted each year, and is shared with numerous other industries.  Though the industry may not have as much of a need for these visas at the current time, the suggested changes would have a huge impact on the program for years to come should this bill be passed into law. 

The legislation that is expected to be introduced would make it much more difficult for the construction industry to qualify for such visas.  Companies would have to register with the Department of Labor; prove the seasonal nature of the job they are seeking; gather written certification from labor unions that there are not sufficient U.S. workers available; be unable to participate if they subcontract; and have to follow myriad new labor requirements.   AGC will maintain conversations with appropriate Capitol Hill staff as debate moves forward on this expected legislation.

This morning, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S. 1152).  This legislation would require employers with 15 or more employees to allow all employees to earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.  Workers would begin accruing leave time on their first day of employment and become eligible to use the time after 60 days. This approach would require a one-size-fits-all paid sick leave package of 56 hours and limit an employers' flexibility in creating a benefits package that would meet the needs of the construction industry's unique workforce.  In addition, this would have a significant bureaucratic impact on employers having to create a new system to track accruals of paid sick leave time.  

The House Education and Labor Committee is expected to pass this bill sometime this summer.  Senate action is unclear at this point.   There are some rumors that this language could be incorporated into the overall health care reform debate currently being discussed on Capitol Hill.  AGC is a member of The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, which is working on this legislation.

Following official confirmation from the Obama Administration that the Highway Trust Fund does not have sufficient revenue to reimburse states through the end of fiscal year 2009 (September 30, 2009) for Federal-aid highway contracts already underway, the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) initiated an effort for coalition members visit each House office.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood acknowledged last week that the HTF needs an additional $5-7 billion to get through FY 2009 without disruption, and an additional $8-10 billion to get through FY 2010. TCC members are also using this opportunity to discuss the need to pass a multi-year reauthorization bill with a revenue increase before the September 30 expiration of SAFETEA-LU. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is currently drafting reauthorization legislation and the Highways and Transit Subcommittee is scheduled to begin considering the bill on June 24.  AGC will notify members as information becomes available.