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On Monday, September 20th, �۽�ֱ�� Charities is holding a volunteer day at Give Kids the World Village to make improvements to the facility including replacing a protective fence and upgrading bathrooms at one of the Village’s pools. Watch this video here to learn more about the project. With your help, we can make this year’s �۽�ֱ�� Charities Operation Opening Doors project a success so we can make sure these special kids get is truly spectacular. Read more.

Construction Association Calls on President to Immediately End Tariffs and Quotas on Steel, Aluminum, and Lumber as First Step to Easing Pressure on Construction Costs and Supply-Chain Bottlenecks

As �۽�ֱ�� continues to pressure the Small Business Administration (SBA) to change its approach to applications for the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Loans over $2M, the agency finally appears to be doing just that. The agency has yet to make any announcements and details are still missing. There is, however, a growing body of anecdotal and other evidence that the agency is finally accelerating the process of forgiving these loans. Over the last three business days, �۽�ֱ�� has received either first-hand or reliable reports that SBA has forgiven another nine of these loans (over $2M) to �۽�ֱ�� members.

Gains on WOTUS, Endangered Species Act Regulations & More in Jeopardy

On June 10, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation to reauthorize federal-aid highway and transit programs, on a mostly partly line vote. This five-year, $547 billon bill will now go to the full House for a floor vote at a yet to be determined date. An �۽�ֱ�� analysis of this legislation as passed by committee may be found here. While �۽�ֱ�� is supportive of the investment levels in this legislation, the association has significant concerns with the bill’s significant restrictions to building new highways and expanding highway lanes and lack of environmental review and permit streamlining initiatives, among other things.

On June 9, �۽�ֱ�� and the business community urged President Biden to remove steel and aluminum tariffs and quotas on the nation’s allies to help address significant price and availability issues for those construction materials. For instance, a widely watched index of steel prices rose 11% in April alone, setting new record highs each week. Many suppliers have warned of difficulty in securing truck or rail transportation from factories, distribution centers and ports. One steel manufacturer, for example, reported on April 28 having to wait 15 days for railcars to ship a load of steel. Recent reports speculate that the president and European Union leaders could next week announce plans to remove some steel and aluminum tariffs by Dec. 1, 2021. Members of the White House National Economic Council recently met with �۽�ֱ��’s Chief Economist Ken Simonson, who communicated the severity of the construction materials situation and the need to immediately remove such tariffs and quotas to help provide some relief.

On June 10, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced that the long-anticipated federal COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will only apply to healthcare settings. This represents a significant change from early reports that the new standard would apply to a broad range of industries, including construction. The fact that the ETS only applies to healthcare settings is a significant victory for �۽�ֱ�� and the industry. �۽�ֱ�� led a broad coalition effort to question the need for the standard, considering the widespread adoption of coronavirus vaccines and the fact the construction industry has been operating, safely, since the start of the pandemic. This announcement comes just a few weeks after �۽�ֱ�� successfully convinced OSHA to suspend enforcement of the agency’s recordkeeping regulations related to adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines, whether required or recommended.

Construction Association Calls for End to Tariffs on Lumber, Steel and Aluminum in Order to Deliver Prompt Relief Instead of Imposing New Restrictions on Hiring, Training, and Work Agreements

Many Construction Firms Also Report Difficulty Finding Qualified Workers to Hire as Some Remain Reluctant to Return to Work amid Child Care Challenges and Elevated Unemployment Supplements

On June 1, President Biden called for an “all-of-government effort to expand contracting opportunities for underserved small businesses across the country.” Among other initiatives, the goal is to increase the share of contracts going to small, disadvantaged businesses (SDB) by 50 percent by 2026, which the administration calculates as an additional $100 billion to SDBs over the five-year period. SDBs include 8(a) participants and other small businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals or groups. The Administration is silent about the other small business subcategories such as Women-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses, and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report that analyzed federal contracts in FY2019, SBD contractors received 8.69% of all federal contracts and 10.13% of all small business eligible federal contracts.