Government affairs

Advocacy Issues & Positions

Transportation Bill and Permeable Pavements Provisions

ICPI supports passage of a comprehensive Transportation Reauthorization bill. ICPI has targeted this legislation as a vehicle to pass legislation drafted by ICPI that would amend federal programs and funding to break down “barriers to adoption” preventing state and local governments from using permeable pavements. ICPI’s legislative proposals would include definitions and participation by ICPI that would specifically benefit permeable interlocking concrete pavements (PICP) and interlocking concrete pavement systems (ICP). In addition, ICPI supports USDOT/FHWA congressional appropriations for USDOT/FHWA for research, deployment/technology transfer and outreach to state-level DOT staff.

Green Transportation Infrastructure R&D, Tech Transfer

ICPI supports legislation to increase government support, funding and procurement for Green Pavements such as PICP. Such legislation would establish government-supported Centers of Excellence to development tech transfer materials and provide grants to disseminate the same. This effort capitalizes on ICPI’s successful efforts to brand PICP as “Green Infrastructure” technology. ICPI has positioned itself with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality as a commercially viable means to advance construction while maintaining local hydrology, mitigating stormwater runoff and facilitating greenspaces.

EPA Green Infrastructure Initiative

ICPI supports and is working with EPA staff to implement federal government efforts to improve and expand EPA regulatory policy to enhance watershed management, water quality and stormwater management by using permeable pavements. ICPI has met with EPA staff to offer technical support and ICPI involvement in pilot programs to promote Best Management Practices including permeable pavements to 10 target cities with plans by EPA to expand to further cities in the future. ICPI has advised EPA that PICP provide a means for builders to comply with emerging Clean Water Act regulations in ways that are technically and economically feasible, using off-the-shelf technology.

Trade and Cross-Border Commerce between U.S. and Canada

ICPI supports fair and open trade between the U.S. and it North American trading partners, most importantly Canada. ICPI has participated in multiple business efforts to oppose protectionist legislation on Capitol Hill. ICPI also supports negotiations between the U.S. and Canada to ease restrictions on legitimate and routine cross-border business travel by very low risk business executives in ICP-related industries.

  • Immigration Policy Relating to H-2B Worker Visa Program - ICPI supports an expanded, accessible H-2B worker visa program. Key issues include supporting an increase in the annual visa limits an opposition to union-led efforts to make the program so unwieldy, expensive and impractical as to render the program moot. ICPI has and continues to work with the H-2B Coalition to ease restrictions on small business employers.

    • Sample letter to send to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor

    • Sample letter to send to Senator or Congressman

    • Additional Facts on the H2B Visa program

Silica Regulation

ICPI opposes a silica regulation that would lower the existing PELs for crystalline silica by a factor of 10 or more, or that would require unreasonably expensive ancillary requirements and extraordinary plant-level engineering changes in order to comply. ICPI has filed comments with USDOL, has appeared and testified before USDOL public hearings, and has engaged in coalition work to add paver-specific language to joint industry comments seeking to reduce the impact of the regulation on the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Labor Issues

ICPI opposed action by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to ease the requirements for unionization efforts in open shop plants which include provisions to allow “ambush” unionization elections. ICPI opposes efforts to increase labor costs by expanding the application of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates, or the use of Project Labor Agreements in government contracts. ICPI opposed the Employee Free Choice Act.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions/Green House Gases/Cap and Trade/Endangerment Finding

ICPI joined business coalition efforts to oppose EPA’s Endangerment Finding and allegations with respect to threats to human health by carbon dioxide. ICPI opposes the Cap and Trade proposals that posed a threat to business in general and the cement-related industries. ICPI supports the use of legitimate “sound science” to guide policy on controversial environmental issues such as global warming. Further, ICPI supports requirements for economic analyses, cost benefit analyses, and regulatory flexibility in creating new regulatory burdens hindering business growth and job expansion.

Fly Ash

ICPI opposed the designation of coal combustion byproducts (fly ash) as a hazardous waste or any designation other than the current solid waste category. ICPI hailed the 2014 announcement that EPA would not designate fly ash as hazardous. ICPI supports legislation to make this EPA policy permanent in law to prevent any future Administration from backtracking on this finding.

Tax Policy - ICPI supports accelerated/enhanced depreciation and bonus depreciation to boost equipment sales and reduce cost of equipment purchases and encourage capital investment, and more liberal IRS Section 179 expensing. ICPI has been a consistent signor of joint industry letters to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee seeking to extend these provisions and to make them permanent. ICPI opposed the 3% Contractor Withholding Law, which would have forced contractors who do business with nearly any government entity to see 3% of their contract payments withheld for income tax purposes.

PaverPAC

The ICPI PaverPAC provides the opportunity for members interested in the future of the interlocking concrete pavement industry to contribute to the support of select Members of Congress. PaverPAC is the political voice, and the political asset, of ICPI members in advancing their legislative and regulatory agenda in Washington DC. PaverPAC solicits and accepts voluntary personal contributions for expenditures that influence the selection, nomination, or election of such representatives. Building from its recent inception, PaverPAC operations are underway via successful efforts to generate initial contributions. PaverPAC has already achieved “qualified” status while building its coffers and contributing to a growing list of political candidates who demonstrate leadership, support business and construction, show an interest in transportation issues that impact ICPI members, and share views of ICPI members.