Dive summary:

• The effects of America going off the so-called fiscal cliff on Jan. 1 – mandatory tax increases and spending cuts – would include about $6 billion slated to be spent on federal government construction projects, according to Associated General Contractors of America.
• Even though some programs and agencies are exempted, such as the Highway Trust Fund, AGC still foresees a loss of up to 170,000 construction jobs and $20.4 billion lost from the gross domestic product.
• AGC bases its estimates on a report in September from the Office of Management and Budget as it began to wrestle with how to implement the cuts – officially referred to as sequestration – if no rescue plan emergences from legislative and executive talks.

From the article:

AGC continues to tell Congress to push off sequestration for one year to allow time for sensible budget reform and to prioritize construction investment. ...