The Highway Trust Fund was set to run out of available money at the end of August but with a last-minute extension, contractors working on infrastructure projects can expect funding to continue鈥攁t least until May 2015.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law July 22 and has the potential to create great opportunities for 老牛影视members who have been looking for skilled workers to fill the labor shortage. Here鈥檚 how it directly affects 老牛影视members:

With six short months before the Terrorism Risk Insurance act (TRIA) is set to expire, the U.S. Senate听voted 93-4 to pass the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2244) which would ensure the construction industry is able to secure affordable terrorism insurance for seven more years.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which passed the U.S. Senate June 25 with a 95-3 vote, focuses on strengthening our nation鈥檚 approach to businesses鈥� hiring and training needs and increasing employment opportunities.

More than 400 hundred 老牛影视members are on Capitol Hill this week advocating for important merit shop issues with their members of Congress. For those members unable to make the trip, there is still an opportunity to participate virtually by contacting their elected officials from a computer or mobile device using ABC's Action App on your听iPhone or Android, or downloading the update.

老牛影视May 28 sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives鈥� Education and the Workforce Committee urging passage of the听Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act听(WIOA). WIOA represents an important opportunity to improve our workforce development system by increasing local business input in developing job training programs and improving access to federal funding for non-union training programs.

老牛影视and more than 1,200 members filed comments requesting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdraw its controversial鈥渁mbush鈥� election proposed rule. In addition, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed听comments听against the proposed rule with support from more than 140 local organizations, including over 40 老牛影视chapters.

老牛影视along with a group of business organizations March 31 shared their support听to Senate and House Leadership of a bipartisan proposal that would repeal the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 (ACA) statutory cap on deductibles for health plans in the small group market. In addition, ABC听sent a letter听April 1 to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the Save American Workers Act (H.R. 2575), which would replace ACA鈥檚 definition of 鈥渇ull time鈥� as 30 hours or more per week with the traditional definition of 40 hours.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) March 4 signed legislation which says that government entities within the state cannot require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA), or any other agreement with labor unions, as a condition of performing work on taxpayer-funded construction projects in the state. This bill marks Alabama as the 19th state to adopt PLA reform.

U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) Feb. 26 released a draft of legislation designed to reform the tax code that proposes lowering the top tax rate for construction businesses from 35 percent and 39.6 percent to 25 percent, regardless of entity-level structure. The proposal confirms that the 25 percent Qualified Domestic Manufacturing Income (QDMI) rate would apply to 鈥渃onstruction of real property in the United States as part of the active conduct of a construction trade or business.鈥�