The just-signed $1.1 trillion spending bill is a boon for the construction industry, boosting cash allocations for construction and giving a $622B 10-year tax break to companies.
The General Services Administration’s construction and acquisition account saw a 300% surge, up to $1.6B—impressive considering Senate lawmakers called for a GSA budget of $181M.
$948M of the GSA cash is for new courthouses—so courthouses like Broward County’s can fix their rat problems.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' construction budget doubled to $1.2B, which hopefully will cut down on vets waiting months for doctor’s appointments.
Associated General Contractors of America director of government affairs Jimmy Christianson says, "It will be a much better fiscal year in 2016 for construction than it was in 2015, and even [better] compared to some years prior.”
Jimmy is no doubt on point—with real estate booming and housing starts up in November, the spending and tax breaks in this bill should keep construction speeding along. [EN]
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