Posts by growthzone

This Week in Congress The House voted on their version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s reauthorization bill, which sought to pare agency bureaucracy, address aviation workforce shortages, and advance new flying technology. Additionally, the House voted on legislation that would restrict the use of public-school facilities to provide shelter for immigrants who have not…

The House Votes on the FY24 NDAA By a vote of 219-210, the House passed the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with four Republicans, all members of the House Freedom Caucus (Reps. Buck, Biggs, Crane, and Massie) voting against the bill.  Four Democrats (Reps. Golden, Vazquez, Perez, Don Davis (N.C.)) voted for the bill.…

ASA Offers Feedback on OSHA’s Use of Leading Indicators ASA, along with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s request for feedback on the effectiveness of leading indicators, which was announced on May 11, 2023. The CISC supports the agency’s development of a Leading…

Supreme Court Ethics Code Legislation This week, Senate Democrats reviewed legislation (S.359) that would impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court and add new disclosure and recusals requirements for the justices. The legislation was prompted by reports that Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose luxury trips or a real estate transaction with a billionaire…

Update: Student Loan Forgiveness Last Friday, the Biden administration announced more limited student loan relief. The White House began notifying 804,000 borrowers that a total of $39 billion in federal student loans would be automatically forgiven in coming weeks. A White House statement described the discharged debt as “fixes” to its income-driven repayment plan for…

This Week in Congress The annual defense bill and longer-term reauthorizations for aviation, farm and nutrition programs will dominate the congressional agenda in July as Congress simultaneously tackles government spending before the September 30th deadline.  The House is slated to consider its FY24 defense authorization measure the week of July 10th and is eyeing a…

ASA Supports Change Order Reform in FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ASA supports the inclusion of the Amendment 453, Small Business Payment for Performance Act, to H.R. 2670, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which would require timely partial payments for agency directed changes to a federal contract.  Amendment 453 to H.R.…

Subcontractor Legal Defense Fund Spotlight: A Conversation with Darlene East The courts are a key battleground in the fight for subcontractor rights. The American Subcontractors Association’s (ASA) Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) supports critical legal activities to protect the interests of all construction subcontractors. The funds invest in precedent-setting litigation to establish subcontractors’ rights across…

ASA Supports the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2023 ASA supports the introduction of the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2023, legislation to make permanent the 20-percent deduction for small- and individually-owned businesses (Section 199A).  This legislation would provide certainty to the millions of S corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships that rely on…

ASA Supports FY24 Transportation Infrastructure Funding ASA, along with the Transportation Construction Coalition, sent support letters to the House and Senate Appropriation Committee Leadership urging the timely completion of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 transportation appropriations at levels authorized in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).  The second year of the IIJA is underway,…