AGC Presses Congress to Pass $580B Highway Bill Before Sept. 30 Cliff
The Associated General Contractors of America is pressing Congress to pass the BUILD America 250 Act before the current federal surface transportation law expires Sept. 30, warning that further delay threatens highway, bridge and transit project pipelines nationwide, Daily Commercial News reports.
Market Impact
The BUILD America 250 Act is a five-year, $580-billion reauthorization bill that would fund highways, bridges, transit systems, rail programs and safety initiatives through fiscal year 2031. It cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in May by a bipartisan 62-2 vote but has not reached a full House vote and hasn’t started moving through the Senate. AGC chief economist Ken Simonson has cautioned that recent construction employment gains, including 64,000 jobs added over the past year with some of the strongest growth in heavy and civil engineering, could fade without long-term funding certainty in place before the deadline.
AGC CEO Jeffrey Shoaf is urging the full House to act on the momentum built by the committee vote. “The overwhelming support for a new bill should be seen as a bipartisan call on the House of Representatives to pass Build America 250,” Shoaf said. “The House committee took the lead, now the full House needs to act.” A nationwide survey of more than 10,000 voters commissioned by AGC and Morning Consult found 78% want Congress to pass a highway, bridge and transit bill before Sept. 30, and 76% said they’re more likely to support lawmakers who help get a bill enacted. More than half of respondents reported a recent road, bridge or traffic problem, and 27% said a pothole had damaged their vehicle.
Some lawmakers have floated a short-term extension to avoid an immediate funding cliff, but AGC argues that approach only postpones the uncertainty rather than resolving it, since state transportation agencies plan projects years in advance around anticipated funding streams.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Heavy-civil, paving, bridge and E&I subs working on state DOT contracts should expect procurement slowdowns for cement, concrete, steel and aggregates if the bill isn’t passed or extended by Sept. 30, per AGC’s warning.
- Contractors bidding on multi-year highway, bridge or transit packages should confirm with state DOTs whether funding commitments are contingent on federal reauthorization before locking in labor and equipment purchases.
- Heavy and civil engineering firms, the segment AGC flags as most exposed to a funding lapse, should build contingency language into new bids in case Congress relies on a short-term extension instead of the full five-year bill.
- Firms tracking legislative movement should watch for House floor action on BUILD America 250 in the weeks before Sept. 30 and any Senate committee activity, since neither has been scheduled as of AGC’s warning.
