Contractors on Capitol Hill, Part 1: The Briefing

By CE Contributing Authors May 20, 2010 View Profile

The lazy Monday morning rain speckled the Metro car’s window as it skimmed across the Potomac on its way into the Capitol. “Next stop, Judiciary Square. Judiciary Square, next stop.” The masses shuffled out onto the platform and the umbrellas and hoods stood up to greet the dark clouds as they emerged from the underground station. It was a couple of blocks to the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) Washington Summit host hotel and I was running late. But it wasn’t my fault, as the hotel’s bartender explained later, “Where snow brings some cities to a halt, in D.C., it’s rain.”

It was a couple minutes after 7:30 a.m. and the NUCA legislative briefings had already begun. Though a few stragglers, myself included, grumbled about the early start time while getting our morning coffees, it was necessary. NUCA had enlisted the help of 19 of D.C.’s most impressive minds to give rapid-fire 15-minute presentations on issues ranging from Immigration Reform to U.S. EPA Loans and Grants. It was clear that NUCA’s D.C. connections run deep with the roster of presenters including: Peter Shanaghan, Team Leader, Drinking Water SRF Team, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA; Aaron Klein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Coordination, U.S. Department of the Treasury; and Chris Braddock, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to name a few.

The main thrust of the presentations was clear — put the construction industry back to work. The most powerful weapon in NUCA’s arsenal was the push for the passage of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act (HR537), which would allow for significant increases in opportunities in private investment by removing state volume caps on private activity bonds (PABs) for water and wastewater projects. Beyond that, the contractor constituency would be pushing for permanent relief from the federal estate tax (Death Tax) for America’s family-owned businesses by setting a permanent, reasonable top rate and meaningful exemption and the preservation the federally-supervised, secret-ballot election in the company unionization process by opposing the Employee Free Choice Act (HR1409), also known as “Card Check.”

Throw in talking points on a 3 percent withholding repeal, depreciation bonus and OSHA regulation and legislation, and 120 attendees knew they would have their work cut out for them the next day on Capitol Hill. These are hot-button issues that would see opposition from both Democrats (known commonly as “Ds”) and Republicans (known like-wise as “Rs”). The Ds would likely support the Card Check legislation, which was later referred to as the Democrat equivalent to the “Republican Estate Tax” by one Legislative Assistant.

The gloomy, wet clouds that loomed outside couldn’t damper the growing excitement inside the NUCA briefing room in the Hyatt Regency, situated just a few blocks from the capitol building. By the time NUCA’s government relations staff — Eben Wyman and Ben Gann — took the stage at the end of the day for a crash course in Lobbying 101, the room was filled with chatter and excitement. The old pros were ready to hit the Hill running, while the lobbying freshmen were excited to see their government in action. As intimidating as congressional meetings and politics might be, no one knows the issues effecting utility contractors like the men and women who are in the trenches — either literally if there’s work or metaphorically if they’re trying to claw their way out of the economic sink hole — day in and day out.