Published in Last Word
The House and Senate reconvened this week for a post-election session aimed at funding the federal government and the extending several important tax provisions, both of which are ACEC priorities.
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who chair the House and Senate Appropriations Committees respectively, plan to introduce in early December an “omnibus” spending package to fund federal agencies and programs through the end of fiscal year 2015. The current Continuing Resolution to fund government operations expires on December 15th. ACEC supports passage of the appropriations bill, which is expected to include modest increases for defense and discretionary programs.
The Council also supports the extension a several expired tax provisions, including the R&D tax credit, the section 179 business expensing threshold for small firms, and the 50% bonus depreciation as it applies to qualified property.
Congress is also expected to take up a number of energy-related tax provisions as well, including tax incentives to support the production and use of renewable energy and incentives for energy-efficient homes and buildings. ACEC recently joined with a coalition of manufacturers and other businesses to urge Congress to complete work on a broad tax extender package before the end of the year. Click here to view the coalition letter.
ACEC continues to work closely with the House and Senate defense committees to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes key procurement reforms to limit the use of single-step design-build, improve the two-step process, and prohibit reverse auctions.
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