JUST A MINUTE

Voters think the fix is in

by Doug McMurry, Executive Vice President

Since government relations is such a big part of what we do, I wanted to give you a very brief update on our recent trip to Washington, D.C. Kristian Pearson and I were there as part of an annual AGC leadership conference. Highlights included a presentation from pollster Frank Luntz, “An Insider’s Guide to the Craziest Election in American History.” One of his many insights is that voters in both political parties think the fix is in—that they can’t get ahead because “the establishment” has stacked the deck against them.

There was also a thoughtful, issues-oriented panel discussion with Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Stephen Sandherr, CEO, AGC of America. The takeaway for this optimist was that there are still reasonable people in Congress who understand construction industry issues. The challenge, of course, is for the industry to speak with one voice and encourage elected officials to work together even if some of their constituents don’t want them to. Lastly, we went to Capitol Hill to talk with members of our congressional delegation. In our meetings we focused primarily on two issues—rules for Waters of the United States and an important workforce development bill reauthorizing the Perkins Act. As in previous years, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was very supportive and forthcoming. Accordingly, he agreed to support our positions. For more information on national construction issues in the 144th Congress, or the AGC voting record of our congressional delegation, please call (210) 349-4921.