Dive Brief:
- Congress passed a two-week spending bill Thursday evening, temporarily preventing a federal government shutdown, Politico reported.The measure extends funding through Dec. 22.
- Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was reportedly meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to work out a two-year budget deal.
- The short-term bill upholds existing spending levels and policies, but Congress will likely face another battle over the full budget later this month.
Dive Insight:
While elected officials fight across the aisle to get a long-term spending plan through to the president, construction industry observers are questioning whether legislators can get enough federal dollars to support infrastructure. Estimates hold that the recent tax plan approved by GOP House and Senate members would further add to the federal deficit — because of that, some say the Trump administration will likely be unable to act on a substantial infrastructure initiative.
Still, the administration and some members of Congress have reportedly begun work on what could become the president's long-awaited infrastructure bill. On Nov. 20, Trump said he would reveal a $1 trillion program following Congress' passage of tax reform legislation, which still is being debated. Lawmakers hope to pass a Senate tax reform bill in time to finalize a deal by Christmas.
Infrastructure and mechanisms for financing the massive outlay have been a closely watched by the industry since the presidential campaign. Details about Trump's plan have been few and slow coming, though the president — throughout his campaign and for much of the last year — asserted that public-private partnerships (P3s) were being strongly considered. Trump later walked back that promise, calling P3s "more trouble than they're worth."
The Trump administration has proposed federal gas tax hike and corporate tax levies on foreign income to boost infrastructure spending, though Congress may still need to pass a budget deal to offset what could be a $2 trillion gap in infrastructure funding.
If Congress does not reach an agreement on a long-term spending bill soon, contractors participating in federal contracts could be forced to navigate a government shutdown — something that Trump has said "could happen." According to Brian Deery, senior director of the Associated General Contractors of America, contractors can assume their projects will continue unless they are instructed to stop work. Still, firms should be prepared to review contracts and collect project information beforehand to account for any potential need for time extensions or to address any payment concerns.