ABC Challenges the President to Fix Regulations Impacting the Construction Industry

The feedback from the construction industry from President Obama’s January 25 State of the Union has been optimistic, noting that the President needs to keep his promises. In reaction to the address, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today issued the following statement on his proposal to review and repair government regulations that place an unnecessary burden on businesses:

“Mr. President, the nation’s construction industry is prepared to hold you to your word,” said 2011 ABC national chairman Michael J. Uremovich, president of Great Lakes Energy Consultants, LLC, Manhattan, Ill.

“The construction industry has been hard hit by the economic downturn with an unemployment rate of 20.7 percent – more than twice the national average,” said Uremovich. “Unnecessary and burdensome regulations have stifled the industry’s recovery and its ability to grow. The president must now make the necessary changes to federal regulations and the rulemaking process to get construction workers back to work.

“ABC will continue to push for comprehensive regulatory reform. We strongly support across-the-board requirements for the executive branch leadership and the agencies they direct to evaluate the risks, weigh the costs and assess the benefits of regulations before making them enforceable.”

In a letter sent to the president on January 25, ABC directed attention to some of the most serious concerns regarding federal rulemaking, including: project labor agreements; wage rates and lack of transparency under the Davis-Bacon Act; “high road” government contracting policy; recent National Labor Relations Board rulemakings and decisions; and the 3 percent withholding tax.