ABC Beltway Blueprint: What the 117th Congress Means for Construction, ABC Statement on Labor Nominee, PPP Relaunch, and COVID Safety Stand-down

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Legislative, Executive, PAC and FEA Committees, Board Members, Chapter Presidents, and ABC Staff,

Please see below for an update on: legislation, elections, and federal, state, and local policies affecting our construction businesses and workforce; ABC’s work with Congress and the administration; upcoming webinars; and critical action alerts to capitalize on opportunities to influence our nation’s leaders.

The ABC Beltway Blueprint is also meant to be used as a tool for our state and local chapters to share with their members and provide updates on important ABC actions. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

What the 117th Congress Means for Construction:

Please see today’s attachments, which include a sneak draft preview of ABC’s CE article for February from ABC’s Brad Mannion and Shreya Kanal on “What the 117th Congress Means for Construction” and an overview of potential labor and employment policies from the Biden administration.

ABC Statement on Marty Walsh for Labor Secretary:

ABC released a statement this morning on President-elect Biden’s selection of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary. See full statement here.

PPP Relaunch Starts on Monday:

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Treasury Department, announced today that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. Lenders targeting underserved communities will have exclusive access to offer loans to new borrowers Monday and Tuesday. They will then be able to offer second loans to existing borrowers Wednesday, and then the PPP is expected to open widely a few days later, according to the SBA.

Earlier this week, SBA released additional PPP guidance in accordance with the recently signed into law COVID relief legislation. Below are links to the new guidance and interim final rules. Of note, the FAQs for 501(c)(6) organizations fails to provide clear and concise guidance on how lobbying restrictions will be implemented, an issue that ABC has sought clarity on since the enactment of the new law. In a call with SBA and Treasury this afternoon, a number of organizations brought up the need for clarity on lobbying activities ahead of the program relaunch. SBA also stated their intention to post new applications for the program over the next couple days. We will continue to pursue additional guidance from our federal agencies and will update you with any additional information.

Join the ABC Construction COVID-19 Safety Stand-down on Jan. 14

As COVID-19 cases continue to spread across the country and local governments impose new stay-at-home orders, it is more important than ever to remind key officials that the construction industry continues to work in a safe and essential manner during this pandemic. To show we are staying safe on jobsites and reducing the spread of the coronavirus, ABC, the National Association of Home Builders and other construction organizations are hosting a COVID-19 Safety Stand Down from Jan. 11-15, with ABC members targeting Thursday, Jan. 14 for member activities. Learn more here.