ABC Jan. 26 reacted to President Obama’s proposal, contained in his Jan. 25 State of the Union address, to review and repair government regulations that place an unnecessary burden on businesses by stating that the construction industry is prepared to make sure he keeps his promise.
“Mr. President, the nation’s construction industry is prepared to hold you to your word,” said 2011 ABC National Chairman Michael J. Uremovich, president of Great Lakes Energy Consultants, Manhattan, Ill.
“The construction industry has been hard hit by the economic downturn with an unemployment rate of 20.7 percent – more than twice the national average,” said Uremovich. “Unnecessary and burdensome regulations have stifled the industry’s recovery and its ability to grow. The president must now make the necessary changes to federal regulations and the rulemaking process to get construction workers back to work.
“ABC will continue to push for comprehensive regulatory reform,” Uremovich said. “We strongly support across-the-board requirements for the executive branch leadership and the agencies they direct to evaluate the risks, weigh the costs and assess the benefits of regulations before making them enforceable.”
In a
letter sent to the president on Jan. 25, ABC directed attention to some of the most serious concerns regarding federal rulemaking, including project labor agreements; wage rates and lack of transparency under the Davis-Bacon Act; “high road” government contracting policy; recent National Labor Relations Board rulemakings and decisions; and the 3 percent withholding tax.