Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C., outlines member-friendly, 2017-2020 advocacy and policy measures in its endorsement of President Donald Trump for election to a second term. Members applaud his administration’s substantial deregulatory efforts, especially after eight years of uncertainty spurred by the predecessor administration’s aggressive, burdensome and litigation-prone rulemaking.
Read MoreSources: National Stone Sand & Gravel Association, Alexandria, Va.; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
President Donald Trump’s formal infrastructure proposal hinges on four basic principals: stimulate at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending through a 10-year, $200-billion federal commitment; shorten project permitting windows; invest in rural transportation, environmental and related public works; and, improve training to attract qualified workers to the trades.
Read MoreA late-January Associated Builders & Contractors study indicated how construction unemployment rates through the end of last year sustained a downward trend dating to 2010. “The ongoing year-over-year decline in the national unemployment rate is an indication of the health of the construction job market and its recovery from the deep recession,” explained economist Bernard Markstein, Ph.D., who analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2016 data for ABC. “However, the shortage of skilled construction workers is hindering the ability of the sector to grow, with more than 80 percent of Associated Builders and Contractors members reporting a shortage of appropriately skilled labor.”
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