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President's Message — A Remarkable
Year
2006 In Review
By AGC President Harry Mashburn
In 2006 AGC was recognized by the American
Society of Association Executives in a new book titled, 7
Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That
Others Don't, as one of the country's top nine associations
that other associations would be wise to emulate. This honor
came as a result of the team effort demonstrated among our
dedicated members, chapter and national staffs.
As 2006 president, but more importantly,
as a member, I'm extremely proud of the work that AGC as a
whole has invested in our organization and the construction
industry. I would like to touch on a few of this year's many
highlights.
Legislative and Regulatory
The year started with a landmark achievement when the U.S.
Department of Commerce announced an agreement-in-principle
with Mexico to lift the tariff on Mexican cement. AGC played
an instrumental leadership role in lifting this tariff that
allowed the cement supply to meet the huge demand.
Other victories include the Senate and House passage of the
Pension Protection Act, legislation that will strengthen and
preserve multi-employer pension plans for the future and help
ensure the retirement security of unionized construction workers.
AGC also successfully worked with industry coalitions to reduce
the capital gains tax and defeated efforts to repeal or suspend
the gas tax.
Both chambers of Congress passed their own versions of immigration
legislation, but there has not yet been a conference committee
named to work out the differences between the bills. AGC will
work to ensure that the conference results are comprehensive-securing
the nation's borders, creating a new guest-worker program
and providing a viable way to address undocumented people.
AGC continued to make regulatory inroads with the launch
of the new Federal Construction Advisory Committee, a group
comprised of construction professionals and representatives
from the federal construction agencies discussing issues that
impact members and federal owners.
We also continued to play a prominent role in influencing
environmental regulation. AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr represented
the construction industry's concerns over the proposed revisions
to existing fine particulate matter standards in a meeting
with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen
Johnson.
AGC's Political Action Committee reached a historic milestone
when it raised more than $1 million in the 2005-2006 election-year
cycle. This accomplishment places us in the elite group of
million-dollar PACs, and it will build on our prominent reputation
as the voice of the construction industry.
Education and Resources
AGC not only leads the construction industry in advocating
for legislation that encourages a fair and balanced economic
environment but also provides members with resources to better
run their businesses.
The Contractors' Guide to BIM is just one of the many products
created by AGC that keeps our members up to date about the
latest advances in technology. The Construction Inflation
Alert, released by AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson, provides
members with tools to plan when bidding on projects and purchasing
materials.
For the fifth year in a row, AGC has won a Susan Harwood
Grant for safety training. These funds will provide Occupational
Safety & Health Administration training for members across
the nation. Our training and education programs continue to
meet and surpass member needs. Updated Supervisory Training
Program units are providing training materials that will continue
to make our members the best trained and most informed companies
in the construction industry.
AGC's contract documents program also provides the industry's
best line of contract documents, and this year AGC launched
DocuBuilder 5.0™. The latest version of our contract
documents program features a new pay-as-you-go feature and
allows users to conveniently download documents from the Web.
Looking to 2007
As we build on the successes of 2006, I want to encourage
our members to become involved. If you have a passion or need
in a certain area, make your voice heard. AGC wants your input
and experience to become an even more remarkable association.
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