AGC Lobbies Congress to
Demolish Death Tax as Tax Legislation Heats
Up
As tax legislation winds
its way through Congress, AGC continues to lobby
intensely for demolition of the death tax. In addition
to coordinating grass roots letters and personal visits,
AGC Congressional Relations staff prepared "Death Tax
Demolition Toy Kits" (see photo) containing plastic
models of construction equipment and explanatory print
material designed to educate Members of Congress about
the capital intensity of the construction industry. A
heavy investment in equipment makes AGC construction
companies especially vulnerable to the death tax.
As the Wall Street Journal editorial page
noted on July 27, "The Associated General Contractors of
America points out that any contractor who purchases the
three pieces of equipment basic to his trade--the
off-highway dump truck, the bulldozer and the front-end
loader--has already amassed assets valued at $1,050,000,
or well beyond the current exemption."
AGC Executive Vice President and CEO Stephen E.
Sandherr personally delivered two of these kits to Rep.
Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), both
leading proponents of death tax elimination.
Heavy-Industrial Division Vice Chairman Allen D.
Bancroft also delivered a kit to Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Me.). Overall, nearly 200 kits were delivered to
members of the congressional tax-writing committees, GOP
leaders and other key Members of Congress.
As this issue of News and Views goes to press, the
House of Representatives has already approved
legislation to gradually phase out the estate (death)
tax over the next 10 years. In 2009, under the House
proposal, the tax would be fully eliminated. The Senate
is considering a lesser death tax relief proposal that
only lowers the highest death tax rates and also
increases the exemption amount. (See box below)
HOUSE DEATH TAX
PROPOSAL
- Phases in full repeal of the death tax beginning
in 2001. In 2001, the top estate and gift tax rate is
reduced to 53 percent and then to 50 percent in 2002.
Beginning in 2003 and through 2006, all rates are
reduced by one percentage point per year; in 2007, all
rates are reduced by 1.5 percentage points; and in
2008, all rates are reduced by two percentage points.
- Beginning in 2009, the death tax is fully repealed
and a "carryover basis" regime takes effect for
transfers of assets at death. For these assets that
are subsequently sold by the heir, a capital gains tax
would apply and the original cost basis (i.e.
carryover basis) would be used to determine the amount
of the asset's appreciation. (Under current law, the
cost basis for inherited assets is the fair market
value on the date of the decedent's death, i.e. the
asset receives a "step up" in basis.)
- Transfers to surviving spouses would continue to
receive a step up in basis. Assets from estates with a
total value of $2 million or less also would receive a
step up in basis; however, the carryover basis regime
would be phased in for estates valued in excess of
$1.3 million and not over $2 million.
SENATE DEATH TAX
PROPOSAL
- In 2001, rates in excess of 50 percent are
repealed.
- Beginning in 2004, the unified credit is replaced
by a true exemption.
- Beginning in 2007, the exemption is increased from
$1 million to $1.5 million.
Final action on tax legislation may not occur until
September, so there is still time for you to write your
Member of Congress and ask for full demolition of the
death tax! For more info: Phil Thoden at
202-383-2764 or thodenp@agc.org.
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Marine Contractors and
Federal Government Can Interact Via Open Forum
Discussion Web site
The open forum discussion site is up and running.
AGC, with a goal to assist members in letting their
needs and desires be heard by the national level of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has created a
forum for contractors and the government to interact on
a daily basis.
The Marine Contractors Committee has established a
Web site to discuss dredging issues on a nationwide
basis. This site can be accessed 24 hours a day. The
Corps of Engineers has access to this site -- in order
to respond to AGC member issues -- and also pose their
own issues. This site is anonymous -- please feel free
to comment as you wish with responsible discussion.
The site is set up to allow the AGC member to either
read and respond to existing issues or to enter their
own issues on an informal basis. Candid discussion is
appropriate and highly recommended.
Your views and opinions will be read, and the Corps
will respond directly. Barry Holliday, Chief, Dredging
and Navigation Branch, USACE, is interested in reviewing
and commenting on national dredging issues. He believes
that this Web site forum will help solve problems before
they become unmanageable, distill complicated problems
to manageable issues and condense multiple problems into
single issues for open discussion at meetings. He would
like to hear about concerns contractors may be having
with regional branches.
To participate in the open forum, go to the AGC Web
site and click on the Members
Only login (password and login are the same).
Click on Forums
(bottom left of screen), then click on Marine Contractors/Dredging
Issues. Issues will appear. Click on any
issue you want to read. If you wish to reply to anyone's
comments, choose Reply
at the bottom.
For more info or an access password: contact Jim
Krause at 202-383-2725. If you have topics of discussion
for presentation but are uncomfortable creating a new
issue on the Web site, e-mail krausej@agc.org or
call Jim to have the issue installed.
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LEGISLATIVE NEWS
Hearing Held on
OSHA's Safety and Health Standard; Rep. Talent Champions
Construction Safety
House Small Business Committee Chairman Jim Talent
(R-Mo.) hosted a hearing on OSHA's proposed Safety and
Health Program standard on July 22. The hearing focused
attention on AGC's criticism of the proposed standard
and its potential harmful effects on America's small and
family-owned construction firms. OSHA Secretary Charles
Jeffress noted that many AGC member firms use written
safety and health programs developed specifically for
their own companies. AGC feels that this 'Washington
knows best' initiative is a step in the wrong direction
and may actually undermine these existing, voluntary
plans.
According to an independent report commissioned by
the Small Business Administration, such a regulation
would impose over $7.4 billion in new annual compliance
costs on over four million small businesses. These new
compliance costs will undoubtedly force many
construction firms to shift still more resources from
successful safety programs that save lives and reduce
injuries to other efforts aimed at complying with new
federal regulations.
Although AGC is dedicated to increasing worker
safety, the association cannot support uniform federal
standards which can stifle innovative approaches to
workplace safety and compromise the ability of employers
to tailor their management techniques to meet the safety
demands of their business.
For more info: contact Patrick Wilson at 202-383-2763
or mailto:wilsonp@agc.or.
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EPA Administrator
Dismantles Anti-Highway Program
In a letter to
Senator Robert Byrd(D-W.Va.), EPA Administrator Carol
Browner announced that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) was canceling the Transportation Partners
Program (TPP) due to the unbalanced nature of the
program and will stop funding the TransAct Web site
managed by the Surface Transportation Policy
Project(STPP). After Senator Byrd questioned the
partners program, Browner initiated an investigation in
which she discovered the program to be unaccountable,
unbalanced, exclusive and ineffective at harmonizing
environment and transportation policy. EPA had provided
the TPP with $7 million in federal funds to support
efforts to reduce automobile use.
AGC, both independently and as co-chair of the
Transportation Construction Coalition, expressed to EPA
the construction industry's outrage regarding EPA's
funding for groups attacking road projects and
obstructionist lawsuits. Administrator Browner's letter
assured Senator Byrd that EPA would replace the partners
program with a more "balanced" program called the
Transportation and Environment Network. This network
will include transportation officials. In addition, this
network will, for the first time, competitively bid work
to be performed under the team's purview. AGC will
contribute to these efforts to harmonize transportation
and environmental policy.
For more info: Loren Sweatt at 202-383-2760 or sweattl@agc.org.
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Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee Holds Conformity
Hearing
AGC called on Congress to pass S. 1053, legislation
to reinstate the Environmental Protection Agency's
grandfather clause. Almost 8,000 AGC members could be
impacted immediately by nonconforming state
transportation plans in 12 states. The Federal Highway
Administration testified that 266 areas are not in
attainment of certain clean air standards, which could
prospectively be affected with highway work stoppages
without the reauthorization of the grandfather clause.
Witnesses at the hearing testified that there would be
adverse impacts on highway safety and the environment
without this legislation. Please continue to write and
call your members of Congress urging their support of S.
1053 and the House version H.R. 1876. A draft latter and
talking points are available on AGC's
Web site
For more info: Loren Sweatt at 202-383-2760 or sweattl@agc.org.
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EEOC Publishes Guidance
on Employer Liability for Supervisor
Harassment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
has released guidance for assessing the liability of
employers for the unlawful harassment of supervisors
under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The
guidance implements two 1998 U.S. Supreme Court
decisions that addressed liability for sexual
harassment. The EEOC guidance applies to harassment
based on race, national origin, age and disability, as
well as sex. The EEOC advises that an employer will be
shielded from liability for the unlawful harassment of a
supervisor "only if it proves that it exercised
reasonable care in preventing and correcting the
harassment and that the employee unreasonably failed to
avoid all of the harm."
According to the EEOC, an effective anti-harassment
policy and complaint procedure should contain six
elements: (1) a clear explanation of prohibited conduct;
(2) assurance that employees who make complaints will be
protected against retaliation; (3) a clearly described
complaint process; (4) assurance that the employer will
protect the confidentiality of complaints; (5) prompt,
thorough and impartial investigations;and (6) assurance
that the employer will take immediate corrective action
when harassment has occurred. A copy of the 30-page
guidance is available from AGC or from the EEOC Internet
site at http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/harassment.html
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Wage Data Available From
BLS.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has made
occupational wage data available on its Internet site
for the first time. The BLS Occupational Employment
Statistics (OES) program produces employment and wage
estimates for over 750 occupations. The estimates are
available for the whole country, individual states and
selected metropolitan statistical areas. The data
includes 33 construction occupations and lists total
employment in each craft, hourly and annual earnings.
The OES data is available on the BLS Internet site at http://stats.bls.gov/oes/oes_data.htm.
BLS can also be contacted by phone at 202-606-6569, fax
at 202-606-6645 or e-mail at mailto:oesinfo@bls.gov
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AGC Submits
Statement Supporting Davis-Bacon Helper
Legislation.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing
July 21 on H.R. 1012. This bill would amend the
Davis-Bacon Act to include the same definition of helper
that is used in the 1982 Department of Labor
regulations. These regulations have been suspended since
December 1996, and define a helper as a semi-skilled
worker who works under the direction of and assists a
journeyman, and can use tools of the trade. AGC
submitted a statement supporting the legislation,
pointing out that helper employment is fully consistent
with the Davis-Bacon Act, has been found to be a common
practice by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
private sector and would save the federal government
over $500 million according to a 1992 estimate by the
Department of Labor itself.
For more info: Bill Isokait at 202-383-2743 or
isokaitb@agc.org.
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CHAPTER CORNER
Michigan AGC
Chapters Show Off Build Up! Tool Kit to 1,100
Educators
Over 1,100
educators, including teachers, counselors and principals
had an opportunity to view the new Build Up! tool kit at
the Michigan Career Preparation System's 1999 Governor's
Conference June 15 in Lansing, Mich. The yearly event is
conducted to offer educators an opportunity to
participate in workshops and a trade show highlighting
career options for elementary through college-level
students.
The Michigan Chapter also conducted two workshops at
the event. "Building Michigan's Future" focused on the
numerous career opportunities available within the
construction industry for high school graduates ,
students with post-secondary technical training and
college graduates. The second workshop, "Careers in the
Organized Construction Industry--Looking for the
Brightest and Best," provided a detailed look at union
apprenticeship programs, job shadowing, mentoring and
recruitment.
For more info: Dick Brunvand, Assistant Executive
Vice President, Michigan Chapter AGC, Lansing, Mich., at
517-371-1550.
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PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES
AGC Contract Documents At A
Glance
At the end of July, AGC will release a free,
first-of-a-kind guide, AGC Contract Documents At A
Glance, that will acquaint members and the public
with the extent of AGC's standard form contract
offerings. This 15-page publication not only discusses
the reasons for and benefits of AGC's contract
documents, but categorizes and explains each one in
clear and simple terms.
The guide first provides a brief overview of the
Contract Documents Committee, which is the AGC committee
charged with development of all AGC contract documents.
The guide also discusses how AGC contract documents: (1)
enhance and shape solutions for the business environment
in which contractors and other construction
professionals work; (2) balance industry interests and
perspectives through an inclusive development
philosophy; and (3) provide owners, contractors,
specialty contractors, and other project parties with
industry-accepted contracts that save time and
transaction costs.
Another section of the guide delineates the
relationships among AGC contract documents by grouping
documents by category (Design-Build, Construction
Management, Program Management, General Contracting,
Subcontracting). Categories are defined graphically and
through written descriptions. Each description includes
the document's year of publication and order number.
In addition, the guide includes one page on 'Related
Publications' for those who want to know more about a
specific subject or issue that relates to contracting,
such as partnering, bonding, insurance and alternative
dispute resolution. At the back of the publication, the
guide offers "quick-glance" matrices that neatly sort
AGC documents by series/group name, document number and
edition date. These are intended to allow readers a
quick way to pinpoint the document they need.
To obtain a copy of the guide, contact AGC's
Publications Department at 202-393-2040 or by fax at
202-737-5011. The full text of the guide will also be
available on AGC's Web site (http://www.agc.org/).
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A New Listserv for Young Constructors
Forum
The Young Constructors Forum (YCF) now has a
listserv. The YCF listserv is an e-mail listing of all
members in this particular group. The list manager can
send one message, which in turn is automatically posted
to the entire list. All members on the list can respond
either to the list manager only, or post for all to see
and read.
The YCF has recently initiated a short monthly e-mail
questionnaire that is sent out on the first business day
of each month. In June, the 'death tax' was the featured
topic. In July, the questions related to the AGC Build
Up! program. For any information regarding the first two
questionnaires, contact Deanna Goelzer at 202-383-2722,
or by e-mail at goelzerd@agc.org.
If you are interested in subscribing to the YCF
listserv, contact Jennifer Mitchell at 202-393-2040 or
by e-mail at mailto:mitchelj@agc.org.*
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AGC Newest Project
Delivery Guides and Video
AGC Guide to
Construction Financing
Developed by AGC's
Construction Financing Committee, this Guide explains
the construction financing process and points out some
of the opportunities and pitfalls for the contractor.
Understanding construction financing can help a
contractor provide additional value to its clients and
enhance its competitive position. However, since the
financing process is fraught with risks, a contractor
must understand the process to protect its
profitability. Order #3565.
Project
Delivery Systems: Options for Success video
This
16-minute video highlights the most frequently used
construction project delivery systems and various
hybrids. The video complements AGC's Project Delivery
Systems for Building Construction textbook (AGC
#2903) and can be used by contractors as a marketing
tool with owners to explain the available construction
options. Order #2904.
CM/GC
Guidelines for Building Construction in the Public
Sector
This publication is intended to establish
guidelines for a system of construction management (CM)
commonly known as CM/GC. CM/GC is a delivery system that
combines the skills and services regularly marketed by
agent construction managers (Agent CM) and traditional
general contractors. These guidelines outline the best
practices, benefits and challenges associated with
CM/GC. Order #2905.
AIA-AGC Design-Build Teaming Checklist
This comprehensive checklist outlines issues a
construction team should discuss prior to commencing a
design-build project. The checklist can be a valuable
team-building tool for all single-source project
delivery team contract scenarios. Order #2906.
To order any of the guides or videos, please feel
free to contact the AGC Publications
Department @ (703)548-3118.
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MY
PROFILE
