On Wednesday, the Associated General Contractors (AGC) unveiled a blueprint for the construction industry. The plan, "Build Now for the Future: A Blueprint for Economic Growth," was developed to help spur growth in the construction industry.The AGC plan details a mix of incentives, tax cuts, policy revisions and infrastructure investments to reverse the decline in construction activity nationwide. The plan was announced by AGC at a construction site in Sparks, Nevada, which has been one of the hardest hit construction markets in the United States. According to AGC construction employment declined in 324 of 337 U.S. metropolitan areas between August 2008 and 2009.
To read the AGC plan, click here.
Investment in construction will spur economic activitiy and create jobs, according to the plan. In a press release, Stephen Sandherr, AGC CEO, plan’s primary goal is to stimulate new private-sector construction activity, which accounts for 70 percent of the construction market.
The plan suggests doubling federal spending on the nation's transportation infrastructure and renovating federal facilities. The plan also calls for investments in clean water, flood control and navigation projects. AGC's plan recommends encouraging public-private partnerships and green construction. Also included in the plan are recommendations on streamling regulation and environmental reviews, restoring the gas tax's "lost purchasing power," repealing the alternative minimum tax, and increasing and extending a number of tax credits and cuts.
According to the AGC website, the association represents more than 33,000 construction-related firms.
