The House and Senate have each passed a three-month extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization. Program and taxing authorization expired on September 30, 2007 and FAA has been operating under multiple short term extensions ever since. 

The long-awaited multi-year FAA bill is close to completion but will not be finalized before the current extension expires on September 30, 2010.  It is likely that the bill will be considered in the lame-duck session of Congress following the November mid-term elections. AGC supports a long-term FAA reauthorization.

On September 18, Hawaii held the final official primary election of the 2010 election year. (Louisiana will hold its primary run-off on October 2). Rep. Charles Djou (R) will once again face Democratic opponent Colleen Hanabusa for Hawaii's 1st district in November. Djou was coined a Republican darling in May when he won Hawaii's special election after Rep. Neil Abercrombie vacated the seat in February to run for Governor.

Hanabusa was Djou's most threatening opponent in the special election, coming in a close second to the Representative. She currently serves as a state senator. The race is considered a "toss up" and will be an interesting one to watch come Election Day.

John Willoughby, a retired Navy officer, will challenge current Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) for Hawaii's 2nd district. Willoughby has a tough battle ahead as the district is considered to be safe for Hirono and rated a "Solid D" district.

With just three to four legislative weeks left in Congress before the November 2 election, a number of outstanding issues remain. It is unlikely that both chambers will pass a bill that has created one of the biggest and most partisan debates leading up to this election: a package addressing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which expire in December. The debate has centered on extending the tax cuts for all but the wealthiest 2 percent of households, or for everybody.

Congress will likely fail to pass the FY11 appropriations bills before October 1, resulting in a must-pass continuing resolution extending federal spending at current levels. Other major legislative items on the Democratic leadership’s list include a defense authorization bill (on which the Senate will vote on Tuesday); a reauthorization of the FAA programs that expire at the end of September; and a food safety bill.  If the Senate invokes cloture on the defense authorization on Tuesday, it will open the bill up to two items Democrats want to deliver before the elections: the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the DREAM Act, which would allow a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought into this country as minors by their parents if these illegal immigrants are paying taxes, attending college or serving in the U.S. military. Items with little chance of passage or debate include card check, climate change, comprehensive immigration reform and telecommunications.

AGC has been urging Congress and the White House to finish work on long-term transportation and water infrastructure spending bills, and keep income tax rates (especially the death tax) from soaring to help construction industry employment recover from millions of lost jobs. AGC believes the stopgap funding for transportation isn’t providing the certainty companies need for hiring and growing. In addition, the prospect of a leap in taxes is deterring private investment.

In early October, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the AGC-opposed Miner Safety and Health Act.  This bill would make significant changes to both MSHA and OSHA. AGC is a strong advocate of worker safety but is concerned about the direction of the bill. The legislation turns the clock back on well over 10 years of progress in improved workplace safety, which has lead to a nearly 50 percent reduction in the construction fatality rate, by creating a more adversarial relationship between employers and OSHA. 

The bill does nothing to help facilitate worker safety on a site or help businesses, especially small businesses, improve worksite safety. Instead, it focuses solely on introducing vague new standards for criminal liability and imposes complicated and costly procedures for adjudicating whistleblower cases. This legislation is ultimately a punitive measure, and does not promote injury prevention. This approach fails to take into account the construction industry's successful accident prevention strategies that have resulted in reducing workplace injury, illness and fatality rates through the successful efforts of business and government working together. Instead it will hamper continued construction industry safety improvements through increased litigation and discouragement of cooperative relationships.

In July the House Education and Labor Committee passed the AGC opposed Miner Safety and Health Act.  Thanks to efforts here in Washington, D.C., and more importantly from grassroots efforts nationwide, this bill has not yet been considered by the full House.  Please use AGC's Legislative Action Center to write your Senators and relay your concerns with this legislation.

The status of President Obama's $50 billion infrastructure plan that was announced on Labor Day still remains unclear.  While Congress has returned from their August recess, no decisions have been made on if or when they would consider moving additional funding for infrastructure as proposed by the president. 

AGC met with several Members of Congress and their staff, and it appears unlikely that they will make any decisions before the mid-term elections on November 2.

AGC will continue to monitor and report on any new developments from Congress or the Administration.

Tuesday's primaries delivered more surprises, particularly in Delaware, where so-called "Tea Party" candidate Christine O'Donnell defeated Rep. Mike Castle in the Republican Senatorial primary.  Castle was expected to be the winner of the nomination and, ultimately, the seat; however the polls quickly turned to a toss-up between O'Donnell and Democrat Chris Coons after O'Donnell won the nomination. Her unexpected Tea Party victory is shared with Rand Paul in Kentucky, Joe Miller in Alaska, and Sharon Angle in Nevada (among others).

In New Hampshire, former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) barely beat out Tea Party candidate Ovide Lamontagne.  Ayotte declared victory by only 1,600 votes. Reid Ribble, a roofer by trade, was pronounced the winner of Wisconsin's 8^th district Republican Primary.  Ribble won his four way primary and will face Rep. Steve Kagen (D) in November.

Construction business owner Richard Hanna (R) in New York won his primary and will challenge Rep. Michael Arcuri (D).  Hanna lost to Arcuri in 2006 by a very narrow margin and could possibly win the seat this time. Tom Reed and Chris Gibson, both Republicans and financially backed by AGC PAC, won their primaries.  Andy Harris (R) in Maryland will once again run for Representative in the 1^st district. 

Thank you to everyone who helped AGC PAC deliver all primary checks before Tuesday. Hawaii's primary - the last official primary of the season - takes place Saturday, and Louisiana will hold its run off race on October 2.

On September 14, the Senate rejected the Johanns Amendment to the Small Business Credit and Jobs Act that would have repealed the new Form 1099 reporting requirement enacted in the healthcare bill earlier this year. The vote on the procedural motion was 46 to 52.

AGC urged Senators to support the Johanns Amendment and may include how Senators voted in AGC's Legislative Scorecard. To see a copy of AGC's Key Vote letter, click here. To see how your Senator voted, click here.

The Senate also rejected the Bill Nelson Amendment that offered an alternative to the Johanns Amendment by a vote of 56 to 42. The Nelson Amendment would have exempted small businesses under 25 employees from the 1099 reporting requirement and would have increased the reporting threshold from $600 to $5,000 a year. AGC and the business community urged Senators to oppose the Nelson Amendment as it would not have provided full relief from the reporting requirement and was overly complex.

Although there are few legislative days left before the end of the year, Congress may try and pass repeal again. AGC will continue to monitor the debate and will post calls to action here.

Finally, thank you to all the AGC members who heeded the call and contacted their Members of Congress.

The massive healthcare bill enacted in March contained a provision that requires government, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes to file Form 1099s with the IRS when goods or services purchased without a credit card from another business exceed $600 in a year. 

Currently, a Form 1099 filing is required only for services-not goods-provided by self-employed independent contractors.  The provision was justified as a way to identify businesses that are not reporting or underreporting income to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.  The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the provision would raise $17 billion to offset a small portion of  the healthcare bill,  but AGC members know the increase in paperwork and compliance costs will be a tremendous burden on their businesses.

AGC supports full repeal of the provision rather than a modification, which is why AGC supports the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act. 

The House considered legislation prior to the August recess that would have repealed the provision; however, the bill ultimately failed.  The Senate is scheduled to vote on two amendments to a small business jobs bill when they return next week: one that would repeal the provision (Senator Mike Johanns), and one that would modify the provision (Senator Bill Nelson).  Because the proposed modification would not repeal the 1099 requirement, but would instead put in place new exemptions, AGC does not believe the amendment would provide adequate relief for businesses.

AGC continues to request members write their Senators and Representative in support of the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act and in support of a full repeal of the burdensome 1099 reporting requirement.  For more information on the 1099 reporting requirement and to write your Members of Congress, use the AGC Legislative Action Center.

AGC, as part of the Transportation Construction Coalition and Americans for Transportation Mobility, pushed for passage of the long-delayed highway and transportation bill Wednesday in Des Moines.

The groups began a new national advertising campaign to push for federal funds to fix aging roads and unsafe bridges and improve transit services in August, and unveiled new bus, radio and print advertisements in Des Moines.  The effort, which will cover dozens of states during the coming weeks, is designed to educate the public about why passing a federal transportation bill is essential to improving road conditions in states like Iowa. AGC has hosted events in South Dakota and South Carolina as well.

Read the press release here. The news was covered by the Des Moines Register, as well as local television and radio stations.

At a Labor Day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Obama announced a plan to request an up-front investment of $50 billion for transportation infrastructure. While there are few specific details, AGC has learned from a senior U.S. DOT official that President Obama is committed to moving a six-year surface transportation bill in 2011.

A significant portion of the $50 billion will be available in the first year for investments in highways, transit, airports and rail. It appears these funds are supplemental to funds that would already have been provided for these programs in FY 2011 (beginning October 1, 2010), but it is unclear whether these funds would move as part of reauthorization or as a separate legislative vehicle. The amount allocated to each program is also not specified.

The president indicated that this increased funding will be paired with the administration's vision for reforming existing transportation programs over the next six years. It appears that the proposal will include the long awaited "principles" for reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU the administration has been expected to deliver.

Additional details from the White House are available here.

In response to the Obama Administration's proposal for new transportation investment, AGC noted that countless thousands of construction workers will have a better chance of retaining their jobs, but that the most effective sequel to the stimulus is passage of a fully funded six-year surface transportation bill.  AGC's reaction was covered by the LA Times, Baltimore Business Journal and Engineering News-Record.

It is highly unlikely that Congress will do anything in regards to the president's request prior to the November elections. AGC will follow developments closely and provide details as they become available.