Congressmen Rick Larsen and Dave Reichert met with AGC members recently to discuss construction-related policy issues.

Last week AGC Board Member Jerome Fisher and the Janicki family discussed economic development issues with Rep. Larsen (D-2) while giving him a tour of a new Janicki Industries manufacturing plant being built by Fisher & Sons, Inc.

Rep. Larsen visited the site currently under construction at the old Scott Paper log yard in Hamilton, WA. Once completed this summer, Janicki’s 160,000 square foot facility will house additional 5-axis mills and support equipment to accommodate the increased demand for composite aerospace tooling – making the building home to the largest milling machines in the world.

The new high-tech, 150,000 square foot facility is being built in a relatively remote and economically distressed area that could gain from the local development benefits of the New Market Tax Credit, which the group discussed with Larsen.

In addition to Rep. Larsen, officials attending the tour included Don Wick, Executive Director of the Economic Development Association of Skagit County (EDASC); Mike Anderson, Mayor of Sedro Woolley; Tim Hollorman, Skagit County Deputy Administrator; and all of the Skagit County Commissioners (Don Munks, Sharon Dillon and Ken Dahlstedt).

After the tour, AGC 2nd Vice President Tom Zamzow of Wilder Construction presented Larsen with a contribution from the AGC of America PAC.

Yesterday, Rep. Reichert (R-8) met with AGC members Brett Ferullo of Northwest Construction, Inc. and Gus Gottschalk of Lydig Construction, Inc. Ferullo chairs the Senior Council for the state’s commercial construction industry’s political committee, BUILD PAC. Both he and Gottschalk are former presidents of the AGC of Washington.

Reichert, who is supported by AGC of America’s PAC, was thanked by the Ferullo and Gottschalk for his support of infrastructure investment and repeal of the death tax and his opposition to the three-percent withholding law.

Reichert is a cosponsor of legislation (HR 2380) titled the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act. The bill would make the repeal of the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes under the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 permanent. Under current law, the tax will be reinstated in 2011. He is also a cosponsor of HR 1023, legislation to repeal the requirement that federal, state, and local governmental entities withhold three percent of payments due to vendors, including contractors. Unless repealed the three-percent withholding law takes effect in 2011. That issue was described in more detail in a recent AGC Works article, available here.

(Photo caption: Left to right: Frank Del Gaudio, project superintendent; Rep. Rick Larson; Jerome Fisher; Tom Cavanaugh, project manager.)