ACEC ramped up its advocacy on R&D amortization in the fall to stress to Congress the urgency of a fix before the end of 2023. Member firms interacted with their members of Congress through grassroots engagement and Member Organization visits to the ACEC residence in Washington, D.C.
The Council also launched an unprecedented public relations campaign that included cable and radio ads, as well as a grassroots component. ACEC members provided testimonials about the impacts on their firms due to this tax policy, and those stories were shared on the ACEC website and social channels.
Discussions continue between the House and Senate tax-writing committees over a compromise tax package to address R&D amortization and two other business tax provisions, as well as tax relief for families in the form of an expanded child tax credit and earned income tax credit. House and Senate tax writers appear to favor addressing the amortization problem by moving the January 1, 2022, implementation date to January 1, 2026—giving industry and Congress more time to address a long-term fix.
It is expected that, if an agreement can be reached, the tax package would move forward with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization or an appropriations bill. Congress temporarily extended FAA programs until December 31, 2023, and needs to act again on the FAA—with either full reauthorization or another extension—before the end of the year.
ACEC supported critical reforms to the implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), but it expressed concerns about other changes proposed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
The proposed rule was triggered by the statutory changes to NEPA enacted by Congress earlier in the year, which ACEC strongly supported. Those provisions included expanded use of categorical exclusions, deadlines for environmental assessments and environmental impact statements, use of private resources to accelerate reviews, and utilizing digital technologies to facilitate efficient collaboration.
The Council expressed support for innovative approaches to NEPA reviews aligned with stakeholder engagement and risk management frameworks, highlighting best practices, such as the Envision system developed by the Councilbacked Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.
ACEC also urged CEQ to foster a continuous focus on information technology applications and data management to create efficiencies in the permitting process. E-NEPA provisions have the potential to create an online unified permitting portal, allowing applicants to submit required documents and track the application progress, and enhancing agency coordination by centralizing data and streamlining communications among agencies and the applicant.
However, the proposed changes from CEQ also included rolling back many of the reforms advanced under the previous administration. The Council expressed concern that removal or modification of many of the elements of the 2020 rule will likely cause permitting delays and frustrate implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. “NEPA rulemakings that oscillate from one administration to the next will likely obstruct critical infrastructure investment, increase costs, and delay necessary enhancements to protect public health and safety,” ACEC wrote.
The Council urged CEQ to follow congressional intent for narrowing agency considerations to reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts, a reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action that is technically and economically feasible, and options that meet the purpose and need of the proposed action.