by Brianna Crandall — April 4, 2011—The Associated General Contractors of America released a new national plan March 15 detailing measures to boost private and public construction activity. Officials said the plan was needed to reverse construction employment declines that have taken place in 317 out of 337 U.S. metro areas since January 2007, according to new data the association released the same day.
The plan, called “Building a Stronger Future, A New Blueprint for Economic Growth,” outlines measures to help boost private sector demand for construction, help tackle a growing infrastructure maintenance backlog, and reduce needless red tape and regulations.
AGC’s CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said the association developed the plan to overcome the years-long construction downturn that has left over 2.2 million construction workers unemployed and the industry’s unemployment rate at 21.8 percent, more than twice the national average.
Sandherr said the recovery plan emphasizes boosting private sector demand, which once accounted for 76 percent of all construction activity, but now accounts for only 60 percent. It calls for approving pending trade agreements to boost demand for manufacturing and shipping facilities, repealing the alternative minimum tax and making permanent the tax cuts that were first put in place in 2001 and 2003.
The plan also identifies new tax credits to encourage retail and restaurant upgrades, improve the efficiency of commercial buildings, and help contractors invest in new, more efficient construction equipment. In addition, it urges Congress and the Obama Administration to end the double taxation of U.S-based businesses that succeed in international markets.
Sandherr noted the plan includes measures to tackle infrastructure problems that cost American businesses an estimated $100 billion a year due to delays and lost productivity, and includes comprehensive measures to reduce costly, time-consuming and needless regulatory burdens.
The plan highlights the need to repeal a costly new mandate set to begin next year that requires governments at all levels to withhold three percent of the cost of virtually all major construction projects from contractors. “For an industry where most firms are lucky to make three percent in profit on a project, this new mandate will either put a lot of people out of work or needlessly inflate the cost of public construction,” Sandherr cautioned.
For more information, see the Web site. See also “AGC analyses show some gains for the construction industry amidst numerous setbacks” on FMLink.
