Sources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
CEO Michael Bellaman and National Chair Tim Keating (R. C. Stevens Construction Co., Winter Garden, Fla.) outline member-friendly, 2017-2020 advocacy and policy measures in an Associated Builders & Contractors endorsement of President Donald Trump for election to a second term. In a letter to 1600 Pennsylvania, they write: “Your continued support for fair and open competition, job creation, small businesses and expanded workforce development initiatives during your first term have helped ABC members grow their businesses, upskill their workforce and create career enhancing jobs.”
Bellaman and Keating also cite how the Trump administration has established the National Council for the American Worker, launched the Pledge to America’s Workers, and signed the FIRST STEP Act, “the most meaningful criminal justice reform in a generation.” Among construction market catalysts in another major piece of legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, is the creation of state and local agency-designated Opportunity Zones. ABC credits TCJA with bringing relief to construction, noting how builders and contractors have historically paid the highest effective federal tax rate of any industry in the U.S. economy. Reform lowered ABC members’ pass-through income tax by 10 points and doubled the estate tax exemption.
“Tax reform, combined with historic regulatory reform, as well as your cabinet, National Labor Relations Board and judicial appointments, have given employers the confidence and the capital to reinvest in their businesses and people and create millions of new jobs,” Bellaman and Keating tell President Trump. “On behalf of a national construction industry trade association with 69 chapters representing more than 21,000 members, ABC is proud to endorse your reelection as president of the United States of America,” they conclude. “ABC looks forward to continuing our work with your administration on the issues critical to our