The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) May 5 held a hearing titled, “Avoiding Another Lost Decade: How to Promote Job Creation.” Prior to the hearing, ABC sent a letter to members of the JEC
expressing concern over the 25 percent unemployment rate in the construction industry and expressing a need for immediate action.
ABC pointed out in the letter that the recently passed jobs bill simply provided employers with tax incentives to hire new employees, but did nothing to address the lack of available projects on which companies can work.
Instead, ABC offered a proposal
to truly boost job growth. Under the proposal, ABC recommended the following: eliminate uncertainty in the business environment by calling on Congress to focus on free-enterprise initiatives and open competition instead of anti-business legislative and regulatory proposals; increase access to capital for new construction projects and viable, low-risk projects/contracts that simply need funding in order for work to commence; provide meaningful tax relief and reduce the tax burden on hard-working Americans and small businesses; enact a national comprehensive energy plan that includes new construction and upgrades to the nation’s insufficient and crumbling infrastructure; allow the entire construction industry workforce to participate in federally funded or federally assisted projects; and support construction training programs that will attract new skilled workers.
To read a copy of the jobs proposal, click
here.