Democrats passed their $740 billion reconciliation package, the Inflation Reduction Act, on Sunday, Aug. 8, by a 51-50 vote with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding, tie-breaking vote. The bill is now set to pass the House later this week and be signed into law by the president, giving Democrats a key victory and Republicans critical fodder for attack ads as they head into the midterm elections.
Ahead of the bill’s passage, ABC issued a statement opposing the legislation, an action alert for members and a key vote letter against the bill.
“The Democrats' tax and spend package would impose anti-growth tax policies that fail to address the rate of inflation, supply chain snarls and workforce shortages disrupting the economy and construction industry,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs.
The bill imposes a 15% minimum corporate tax and reinstates a 16.4 cent tax on crude oil and imported petroleum products while the country continues to face record high inflation and increased gas prices. The Democrats’ proposal also contains an unprecedented expansion of Davis-Bacon and government-registered apprenticeship incentives providing a five-fold increase in a tax credit for private employers that impose Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements and government-registered apprenticeship labor-hour quotas ranging from 10% to 15% of total labor hours, depending on the year of qualifying construction energy projects.
ABC believes that the bill’s anti-competitive policies will handicap merit shop construction contractors and further jeopardize the nation’s economy at this critical time.