On Dec. 22, 2023, the Biden administration published a final rule, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14063, which requires federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreements.

The organizations signed below collectively submit the following comments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Request for Information: Products and Categories of Products Used in Water Infrastructure Programs. We appreciate the opportunity to share our perspective of this review as it relates to our construction materials.

The Waters Advocacy Coalition (“WAC” or “Coalition”) offers the following comments on the Interim Draft of the National Ordinary High Water Mark Field Delineation Manual for Rivers and Streams (“Draft Manual”). WAC represents a large cross-section of America’s construction, transportation, real estate, mining, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, energy, wildlife conservation, and public health and safety sectors—all of which are vital to a thriving economy and provide much-needed jobs.

On behalf of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA), we write to you today regarding our deep concern over the proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) particulate matter (PM) standard that is expected to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) particulate matter standard (PM 2.5) from its current level of 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) to within the range of 8.0 to 11.0 µg/m3.

These comments are submitted on behalf of the Coalition for Workplace Safety (“CWS”) and the 74 undersigned organizations (“the Commenters”), pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process under the OSH Act, 88 Fed. Reg. 59825 (Aug. 30, 2023) (“Proposed Rule”). For the reasons outlined below, the Commenters urge OSHA to withdraw the proposed rule entirely.

On behalf of the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA), Copper Development Association Inc. (CDA), Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association (DIPRA), National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), and the Steel Tank Institute/Steel Plate Fabricators Association (STI/SPFA), we are concerned about continued efforts in Washington to pass legislation that prefers specific materials at the expense of proven materials.

The undersigned associations urge you to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency maintains existing National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). A proposed discretionary revision to this standard, which is under review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, could put nearly 40% of the U.S. population in areas of nonattainment. Doing so would risk jobs and livelihoods by making it even more difficult to obtain permits for new factories, facilities and infrastructure to power economic growth.

On October 24, 2023 PPWO and 87 organizations representing private, public, nonprofit, and educational entities sent letters to House and Senate lawmakers requesting that they urge the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to withdraw its proposed overtime pay regulations.

Thank you for today’s hearing examining the financial solvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and potential solutions, including the creation and implementation of a national vehicle miles traveled (VMT) program, titled “Running Empty: The Highway Trust Fund”. The undersigned organizations represent a diverse set of transportation stakeholders, all of whom support augmenting the current HTF user-fee system to ensure financial solvency ahead of the next multi-year surface transportation reauthorization law.

On behalf of the members of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), we strongly urge you to exclude Section 2815 of the Senate-passed NDAA from the conference report for FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This provision makes a controversial modification to an existing, ongoing pilot at DoD and does not have a similar provision in the House passed bill. Sec. 2815 of the Senate FY24 NDAA (S. 2226, pp. 1375-1376) amends a pilot program that was included in the FY22 NDAA (PL 117-81, Sec.