Category: Legislative Updates

Construction Spending Shows Mixed Results in May as Infrastructure Categories Lag While Manufacturing Projects and Homebuilding Surge

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by LICA-National

Total construction spending in May increased by 0.9 percent from April and 2.4 percent year-over-year as gains in manufacturing construction and single-family homebuilding offset a downturn in major infrastructure segments, according to an analysis today by the Associated General Contractors of America of new federal data. Association officials cautioned that unclear and contradictory government regulations were slowing a variety of publicly funded projects and they urged the Biden administration to speed the awarding of contracts..


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Farm Bill Discussions Continue

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by LICA-National

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, plans to attempt once again to reform the existing farm bill payment limits, seeking to tighten the amount of people eligible for the government's agricultural programs. Grassley said he’ll propose more restrictive payment limits in the upcoming reauthorization process, repeating similar efforts he's championed in previous bills.


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Construction Industry Also Calls for Immigration Reform

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by LICA-National

The Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act is a bipartisan attempt to provide a legal immigration option to meet projected future workforce needs and help secure the U.S. border.

The U.S. immigration system is broken, placing national security in jeopardy, leaving thousands of current construction workers’ uncertain futures in the hands of the court system, and leaving no legal option for lesser skilled immigrants to meet workforce needs. All these factors have contributed to the industry’s workforce shortage.


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Debt Bill Passage May Help Move Farm Bill

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by LICA-National

The Debt Bill now under consideration by the Senate has implications for the outlook of the farm bill. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say the debt limit agreement should remove SNAP work requirements as a potential sticking point in the upcoming farm bill debate, but also said the deal takes away some potential funding.


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Debt Bill Provides Construction Permitting Reforms

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by LICA-National

The Debt Bill includes provisions supported by the construction industry to expedite the federal permitting process. The Associated General Contractors of America’s chief executive officer, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement:

“The debt limit deal announced over the weekend includes significant reforms to a federal permitting process that has, until now, been one of the main impediments to progress on many vital infrastructure projects. These reforms will reduce the time it takes to complete environmental reviews without weakening any of the strong protections built into the process.


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