Death Tax Vote Expected in June

House Republican leaders are talking about holding a straight up or down vote on elimination of the death tax in June. Neither a firm date nor specifics about the death tax bill has yet been announced. One likely possibility would be to vote on H.R. 8, sponsored by Reps. Dunn (R-WA) and Tanner (D-TN) that gradually eliminates the tax over a 10-year period. This bill already has a majority of 235 bipartisan cosponsors. A stand-alone repeal, though, would have a tough time in the Senate where 60 votes would be needed to prevent a filibuster. Grassroots letters from AGC members will play an important role in our lobbying effort. You can download a letter to your Member of Congress by clicking here. Meanwhile...

Death Tax Returns are Increasing: The Wall Street Journal reported this week that between 1987 and 1998 the number of estate tax returns showing a tax liability more than doubled to 47,482.

Managed Care Talks Stalled: Conference committee talks on managed care legislation have yet to produce a compromise bill. The original deadline was March 31st, and no end is in sight. President Clinton hopes to re-ignite the process by holding a meeting at the White House next Monday with leading conferees. Employer liability continues to be a sticky point for the conferees.

GAO Claims $4-billion Backlog of Repairs and Renovations for Federal Buildings: The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) reports that there is a $4-billion backlog of repairs and renovations at federal buildings around the country. GAO contends that one of the reasons for the backlog is inadequate funding for the General Services Administration's (GSA's) construction programs. GSA's repairs and alterations budget has averaged $600 million per year for a decade. In this year's budget submission (FY 2001), GSA requested $721 million. Clearly, with the mounting needs documented by GAO, it is time to invest in the nation's public buildings. AGC and its members need to pressure Congress to adequately fund the GSA federal construction programs in this upcoming appropriations process. AGC will send a legislative bulletin to the chapters next week that will include a draft letter, talking points, and an update of the legislative situation. The bulletin will also be available on www.agc.org. 

New Storm Water Information Available Online: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new Compliance Assistance Guide can be found on the AGC website by clicking here. This guide provides information on compliance with Storm Water Phase II, a rule that requires construction sites over one acre to install and maintain sediment and erosion control devices. In addition, EPA has announced Phase II seminars. They will be held in New Orleans, LA; Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA; Denver, CO; Newport, RI; and Tampa, FL. There will be a one-day overview of the regulations or a more in-depth two-day seminar. Registration for this free course is available online at http://www.epa.gov/owm/sw/training. If you were on the AGC Environment Listserv you would have had this information yesterday. Contact Loren Sweatt for more information. 

AGC PAC Regional Meetings: Notices were sent out this week for AGC PAC's regional meetings. The purpose of these meetings is for contractors to review each Congressional race by region of the country for determination of new or additional support by AGC PAC. Each meeting is held at or close to the airport, begins late in the morning at 11:00 a.m., continues through lunch, and finishes no later than 3:00 p.m. The regional meetings schedule is as follows: Region I, II, & III - June 6th in Philadelphia; Region IV - July 12th in Atlanta; Region V & VI - July 11th in Chicago; Region VII & VIII - July 13th in Dallas; and Region IX & X - June 29 in San Francisco. For information on attending these meetings, please contact Sonja Simmons.

Subcommittee Examined Right to Work Legislation: The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing yesterday on Representative Bob Goodlatte's (R-VA) right-to-work bill. Committee members heard testimony from state legislators and right-to-work committee leaders who support the measure as well as representatives from organized labor that opposed the bill. Panel Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) said in his opening statement that he hopes to begin a dialogue on the "future of the workplace." Subcommittee ranking member Tim Roemer (D-IN) expressed his frustration that the committee was "wasting time" on a bill that almost has no chance in passing.



Utilize Congress at Your Fingertips Located in the Member’s Only Section at http://www.agc.org/ to contact your Congressional Representatives.