Spin for Education during AGC's 90^th Annual Convention in San Diego at the AGC Education & Research Foundation booth, Tuesday, March 3, 12pm - Friday, March 6.

AGC's Annual Convention and Constructor Expo are just four weeks away, and this year's convention will feature essential programs to help contractors overcome the challenges facing the construction industry, including the latest updates on the economic stimulus package and the expected investment in infrastructure and the impact of the new administration on regulatory and federal contracting issues. Register today!

AGC Webinar - Feb. 26, 2:00 to 3:30 pm ET

Don't miss this important webinar as industry experts John Tocci, Sr. and Jim Frey provide an in-depth look at how Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is changing the construction industry, lessons learned from early adopters and what you can do to benefit from IPD.

Will February mark the low point in the economic cycle? Assuming President Obama signs the tax and spending relief package this month, and Treasury goes ahead with further banking and credit measures announced by Secretary Geithner on February 10, the economy will soon begin getting a strong double dose of stimulants.

The fiscal stimulus should start flowing quite promptly. Within weeks, taxpayers will receive reductions in withholding, unemployment checks will be boosted, and individuals unemployed for more than six months will keep receiving checks longer. Meanwhile, consumers are already receiving the equivalent of hefty tax cuts through drops in interest rates and in gasoline, heating and other prices. The combination of these governmental and market changes may end the spending strike that has kept retail sales tumbling for three months. Already, the National Association of Realtors reported that its index of pending home sales-houses under contract but not yet closed-improved in January. That should translate into higher home sales in March, followed by a revival of housing-related purchases.

Within a few weeks of enactment of the stimulus bill, the Federal Highway Administration and other agencies will notify state and local governments how much they will be eligible for under various infrastructure stimulus programs. Direct federal spending on construction will also begin to pick up.

The rise in stimulus-induced construction will not be enough at first to offset the sharp cutbacks states are undertaking now to balance their budgets during the current fiscal year. But by the third quarter, public construction spending may level off.

The stimulus bill will also help some categories of private construction, such as power, perhaps communications, and residential improvements (for energy efficiency). And tax incentives in the bill may help get private development off (or into) the ground in high-unemployment "recovery zones."

But much private construction, as well as bond-funded public construction, will depend on the success of the Federal Reserve, Treasury and other financial agencies in restoring the banking and credit systems. The timing for that breakthrough remains uncertain.

The media, policy makers from both parties, and economists will be watching closely for signs of a turnaround. You can help identify it. Send examples of either improvement in the demand for construction and availability of credit, or continued contraction, to simonsonk@agc.org.

AGC's updated stimulus Web page details the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes $308 billion in appropriated spending, $269 million in direct spending and $211 billion in tax cuts. AGC worked hard to ensure significant infrastructure investment was included in the plan, and ultimately secured $140 billion in construction spending.

Following passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, AGC's CEO Stephen Sandherr released a statement and was interviewed in several media outlets, including ENR.

CNN Money and the Wall Street Journal both report that the pending stimulus plan will benefit construction companies.  CNN Money quotes AGC chief economist Ken Simonson, who predicts that contractors will begin hiring works as soon as contracts are awarded.  AGC Steve Sandherr is quoted in the Wall Street Journal in support of the funding to begin rebuilding America's infrastructure.

Supporters of the (so-called) Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) are making a push to introduce this legislation in the House very soon and are continuing to push for original co-sponsors of the bill. AGC opposes the Employee Free Choice Act and urges AGC members to discourage cosponsorship.

EFCA would take away a worker's right to a federally supervised private ballot election when deciding whether or not to select union representation. It also imposes unrealistically short deadlines for labor-management negotiations over a first contract before mandating third-party mediation and binding arbitration.

AGC supports the status quo, which allows both card-check recognition and secret-ballot elections to establish union representation and remains the most fair and reliable way to determine the desire of employees to be represented by a union.

Please reach out to your Members of Congress to urge them not to co-sponsor or support the bill. Just last week over 4,000 AGC members made their voice heard on this issue by using AGC's Legislative Action Center. Contact your congressional delegation today and urge them not to co-sponsor or support the (so-called) Employee Free Choice Act.

For more information please contact Kelly Knott at (202) 547-4685 or knottk@agc.org.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The plan includes significant infrastructure investment, as outlined in the AGC summary of infrastructure and public building investment provisions.

For more information, visit www.agc.org/stimulus, which is updated regularly with stimulus news and AGC's efforts related to the bill.

Thanks to a strong grassroots effort nationwide, AGC of America, AGC's nationwide network of Chapters and members can be proud that combined efforts resulted a bill that will bring work and jobs back to the construction industry.

AGC committed thousands of hours over the last several months to advocating for investment in infrastructure and public buildings. AGC submitted written and oral testimony to six Congressional hearings and delivered four letters to Capitol Hill on behalf of member companies advocating for investment in infrastructure and public buildings. In addition, activity on AGC's legislative action center was unprecedented, ultimately sending 12,000 letters to Senators and Representatives in support of the stimulus plan while countless phone calls were made to Congressional offices. AGC and its coalition partners stirred grassroots efforts with five new advertisements and significant media coverage, and AGC's petition for investment now includes more than 3,000 supporters.

AGC Presents Podcast on Details of Recovery Plan, Requests Member Help
AGC created a 30-minute podcast February 2 to update members on the status of the stimulus plan then circulating on Capitol Hill and urged members to contact their Senators in support for infrastructure investment as part of the stimulus plan. Visit www.agc.org/stimulus.

AGC of America: Working for You
In January alone, members of AGC benefited from three free webinars and thousands of man and woman hours working in support of infrastructure investment in the pending stimulus plan.

Two webinars, For CEOs Only: Where Do I Turn for Answers in Tough Times? and Have We Hit Bottom?, were designed to help members cope with the economic downturn. Last week's webinar, Understanding the New FAR Requirements for Mandatory Disclosure and Stronger Compliance Programs, provided detailed analysis of the federal government's new Mandatory Disclosure Rule for federal contractors.

AGC of Maine Press Conference Pushes for Infrastructure Funding

Chief Economist Published in Orlando Sentinel

AGC Provides Testimony on Capitol Hill

Building Coalition Continues Push for Stimulus Funds

AGC Holds Media Conference Call on Economic Stimulus

AGC Pushes for Infrastructure Investment During Capitol Hill News Event

Lou Dobbs Features AGC in Line-Item Veto Series

AGC CEO Featured on FOX Business News

For more information, contact Jeff Shoaf at (202) 547-3350 or shoafj@agc.org.

AGC's chief executive officer Steve Sandherr was quoted in The Washington Post today in an article titled "Builders Groups Decry Obama's Order on Projects." According to Sandherr, the order, which lifts a ban on government-mandated project labor agreements, "has the unfortunate protential to limit contractors' ability to compete for projects." Read the article here.