In this episode of The Cost Code Show, Ryan Gilmore sits down with Mike Oscar, Director of Government Relations for the American Subcontractors Association (ASA), to break down what subcontractors should be paying attention to in 2025. From prompt payment and change order reform to tax legislation and workforce development, Mike explains how policy decisions made in Washington directly affect the way trade contractors manage cash flow, protect margins, and plan for growth.
Ryan and Mike dig into ASA’s ongoing push to improve payment protections for subcontractors, including efforts to ensure contractors get paid more quickly on approved change orders instead of carrying those costs until the end of a project. They also discuss how federal acquisition rules, the National Defense Authorization Act, and broader procurement policy can shape opportunities and risks for subcontractors working on public and military jobs — and why those changes often influence state and local work too.
The conversation also covers the practical side of tax reform, including the long-term importance of preserving the 20% Section 199A deduction, bonus depreciation, Section 179 expensing, and other provisions that matter to small and family-run construction businesses. Mike also shares how ASA is thinking about the labor pipeline, from apprenticeship support and school outreach to immigration pathways, childcare support, and safety policy — all with the goal of helping subcontractors build a stronger workforce for the future.
Whether you’re a subcontractor trying to stay ahead of policy changes, an accountant advising construction clients on cash flow and tax strategy, or an industry leader looking for a clearer view of the legislative landscape, this episode offers a practical look at how advocacy, regulation, and business operations intersect.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Cost Good Show presented by Noify. This is a podcast where we focus on helping trade contractors run and grow their businesses. Today, I'm excited to welcome on Mike Oscar, the director of government relations at the American Subcontractors Association. Mike is a fierce advocate for subcontractors. On today's episode, he's going to share some of the work he's been doing on Capitol Hill to ensure the interests of subcontractors and trade contractors are fairly represented. How are we doing today, Mark? Thank you. Thanks very much, Ryan. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you and to your audience about the importance of the American Subcontractors Association to be involved in the government space, which is something that we take very seriously. I serve as their national government relations director, and we have a lot of different priorities that we take one at a time. But just to give you a little bit of background, the American Subcontractors Association is a pivotal entity in the construction industry representing over three thousand five hundred subcontractors across the United States. And our legislative priorities are aimed to address critical issues that impact subcontractors and, by extension, the broader construction sector who play an essential role in construction projects. Appreciate that that intro and that that that description of your background and the work that the ASA is doing. So let's kick things off. Let's start big picture. What's at stake for subcontractors in twenty twenty five as far as legislation is concerned? It's a constant priority, and that is to ensure that our subs, and that is our subcontractors members, are paid and they're paid on time. And so we are constantly monitoring that from a legislative and a regulatory perspective. More specifically, yesterday, the federal position regulatory, the FARs, came out with their new amended version of the FAR. This was something that the new administration said they were going to do, And we wanna make sure that those recommendations, what they added, what they deleted, what they removed, still ensure that in all federal construction projects, we have we have insurances in place to we are paid on time. And if there are change orders, which is something that is ubiquitous throughout the construction industry to ensure that those change orders are also promptly played paid and paid on time. And so that's on the regulatory side. From the legislative side, we're looking specifically at the legislation that was just reintroduced yesterday by representative Pete Stauber. He's been a stalwart for us. Representative stall Stalber is from Minnesota. He also serves as our cochair for the construction industry procurement, caucus, which is one of the caucuses that is supported by the US House of Representatives. And he reintroduced his small business and payment performance act, which is legislation to ensure that if fifty percent of a change order is complete, fifty percent of that change order is paid out. Oftentimes in the contract process, the change order is not paid until the entire job is complete, which then means that our individual members have to carry the cost of that change order for quite amount of time to to ultimately wait to get paid. And that project may they may have moved on to another project, but that project that they were working on at the time is still ongoing. And this could lead into multiple months, multiple years, and we wanna ensure that there's efficiency in this whole payment chain of custody so that our members are paid and paid on time for the work that they have completed. Because oftentimes in contracts, change orders that occur, which again are, as I mentioned, ubiquitous throughout the construction industry and are very present in the construction industry, we're obligated through a unilateral change if the which is in federal construction work. Oftentimes, it's the federal government. And if we sign that contract, we're obligated to satisfy the requirements of any change to that contract and to that performance of work, getting paid and getting paid on time is very important. Also, at this time of year, congress works on the National Defense Authorization Act. That is an annual bill that funds our defense department. Believe it or not, there are a lot of procurement clauses and measures in that legislation that will directly impact our members. Many of them do complete work on military bases. It is across the board in all the different armed services, But we're also trying to, at the same time in that legislation, ensure that if we are able to be effective there, it has a trickle down effect maybe at the state and local level, maybe not necessarily as military projects, but it will allow us to create precedent for our legislation moving forward that might be outside of the scope of the military, but also has a direct impact on public projects moving forward. So we're looking at that. We're looking at the impacts of bonding, public private partnerships, looking at environmental impacts, statements, studies that are all being under the purview of the National Defense Authorization Act, and we're looking at that as that bill's being crafted to ensure that our contractor members are protected. So, again, we're looking at it both from the regulatory side and also at the legislative side, and that's happening right now in real time. That's fantastic. I think those are a lot of, like, hot button issues, I know, for our customers, which are mainly subcontractors, trade contractors, if you will. So especially change orders. I know that ASA is advocates for change order payment reform through the small business payment for pay payment for performance act. Is that similar to what you discussed at the beginning of your answer there? Is that a different That's the legislation that representative Staller has offered numerous times. But we're taking it one step further because we have had this legislation. We originally drafted the legislation back in twenty eighteen. I understand that we're in twenty twenty five, and we're close to seven years later, but legislation takes time. There's an education process. There's also changes in administrations. There's also changes in parties of control whose minority and majority parties. Republicans now control all aspects of the congress as well as the executive office and even the supreme court. Again, that has its benefits, and it also has its, it has its concerns as well. But we've been working with representative Stauber because when he has offered that legislation as an amendment to the national defense authorization bill, we have gotten thumbs down from the defense department. They see it as a additional cost because they're held to yearly budgets, and they also claim that it's gonna come at a cost to upgrade their software to ensure that these payments are paid in a more timely basis. We don't necessarily buy into that argument, and we've opposed that argument. But the problem is when it doesn't matter what party you affiliate yourself with. When the defense department says they're not for something, you're not gonna get a lot of support. So we've been working on a parallel track with senator Joni Ernst from Iowa. Senator Ernst is the chairwoman of the senate small business committee, and she's taking this legislation, if you will, to a different level. She's looking at it from an unpriced change order as opposed to a regular change order or a price change order. And under an unpriced change order for projects that are five million or more or on a critical path So think about, for example, if the government after nine eleven, the terrorist attacks that occurred, there was a great sense of urgency to start the Homeland Security Department. That all is considered critical path because those projects need to be done need to be done on time. Now in real time, almost twenty years later, we're dealing with a new space force. This is very important to this current administration. We have contractors currently working on numerous spaces throughout the country that are building these space forces that building this new space program. That's very important to the administration. Those are considered critical path projects. So working with senator Ernst, what we're trying to do is to say, okay, if the government already allows for five million and more on a critical path to get fifty percent of that change order paid out at fifty percent of the time, then why can't we then inverse that and say if it's five million or less, which would be really where our subcontractors live in the space. I'm not underestimating some of our subcontractors that do five million or more, but I if I'm looking at majority minority, majority of our members from a consensus standpoint are in that five million or less. And we've been working with her staff. She has a brilliant staffer who actually worked with us. I've known her for quite a long time. She actually worked on the Armed Services Committee on the house, and now she's with senator Ernst again as chair of the small business committee on the SEM side. She's chief counsel for senator Ernst, and she has convened with some of our subcontractors, which has been brilliant, in meetings with the air force. And the air force is agreeable, but let me put that in quotations. They they are not opposed, but they're not gonna come out in affirmation whether they're for or against the bill. They just they're precluded to do that. But from a technical correction side, they're open to it. So we're working on that right now because I believe that on behalf of my members that I wanna get something done. I don't believe in supporting legislation just for the sake of supporting legislation. We have a government affairs committee. It's quite robust. It's over ninety plus members, but but those members are made up of primarily subcontractors. So we have subcontractor members directly talking to us about what their needs and priorities are. We also have some supplier members on that committee, and we also have some of our attorneys that represent us in the construction law arena. And we've been work working very closely to provide good input to senator Ernst as she is drafting the bill. The bill's not complete yet, but I have a director from that committee, and we meet four times a year. Beyond meeting four times a year, we communicate via email and phone, and I visit the state chapters quite often. I'm in contact with them on a regular basis, but they have instructed me that they wanna take this a step further. I'll end with this on this legislation. We met with senator Ernst's when we had our fly in on June twelfth in Washington DC, and she felt that we're moving in the right direction. I continue to talk with her. Actually, her boss is having a big business expo coming up on August, believe it or not, August twelfth, almost two months later. And she'll have the small business administrator coming into Ames, Iowa. And that's another opportunity for us to talk with her and talk with our subcontractors about the importance of this bill that she's drafting. So it'll be ready for prime time, but I don't wanna diminish the work that representative Stauber's doing on his bill because that created the impetus to create this other version of the bill. And I know this is very deep in the weeds, and your audience probably may or may not be aware of it, but this is how this process works. And through the committee, through our co chairs of the committee, through my board, and through just my conversations with our members, this is a very top priority. Change order reform is critical, and we wanna ensure that not only that reform is present, but that it actually gets to what it's supposed to do, and that is to pay our members on a timely basis. Excellent. No. I appreciate the detail and answer there, and I think our audience will as well. It's great to know that you guys are approaching this from a two pronged point of view to get to get things done. So I wanna move on to another topic. I know that tax reform is a big topic as well. So maybe you could talk a little bit about some of the issues that you're watching out for this year and how that might impact the ASA members of Board. About, the name of the bill that they came up with under the budget reconciliation process was the one big beautiful bill. You may have heard about that in the news. Regardless of the name, the budget reconciliation process has been used for quite some time. Both sides of the aisles have used it. It's an opportunity to circumvent the filibuster in the Senate. All you need to do is to get to majority. So they worked on the bill on the House side, and they finished it up in the senate by July fourth, which was the deadline the president put in place. Similarly, back in twenty seventeen, a budget reconciliation bill dealing with the tax provisions that this current bill dealt with was drafted and passed into law. The reason for the current one big beautiful bill is because that bill that started in the first administration under the Trump administration twenty seventeen was going to sunset in twenty twenty five. They put a horizon, an eight year horizon on that bill. So a lot of these tax breaks that were very important to my subcontractor members were going to sunset, and it would have created a tremendous burden if those tax deductions and credits and reform wasn't complete by twenty twenty five. And so that is what occurred, and it's a mammoth bill. I won't get into all of it. I will be very clear that the we did not take a position. We were asked about taking a position. We actually were a part of a video that the White House put together specifically on the tax reform issues that our members, after their meeting with the White House, they were then, what is it, recorded in support of the tax reform provisions in that one big beautiful bill. Because, again, we are primarily small businesses. Some of us are family owned generation after generation in the industry. So succession planning, estate planning are very important. Also too, the one hundred ninety nine a deduction via the tax code for anyone who owns an LLC was important because that's a twenty percent deduction that you could use for capital improvements in your business. You could use it for administrative expenses. You could use it for a host of things. And to lose that deduction would have been quite catastrophic for our members because a lot of us beyond if we're not established as an LLC, but we may have an LLC entity that is a part of the overall enterprise that the construction owner has, may have an LLC for his trucking company, may have an LLC for his warehousing. So that deduction was critically important, and that was maintained. And not only was it maintained, but there's no horizon on it. It's permanent for at that twenty percent level. I'm gonna pause for a minute because I started out about the budget reconciliation process, but it's important. During the COVID crisis, democrats were in control, and they used budget reconciliation. So the pendulum swings on budget reconciliation back and forth. So it's not a in my humble opinion, I don't see it as a partisan issue. I just see it as an attempt to allow for you to circumvent the filibuster. And having served as a senate staffer for many years up on Capitol Hill, I'm an institutionalist when it comes to the preservation of the filibuster because I think that allows for discussion because you have to get over fifty votes. So right now it's fifty three forty seven. In order for something to pass, you have to get to sixty votes. You have to bring over seven votes. Sometimes that stalls things and deliberately stalls things for moving forward. But what it really does, in my humble opinion, is it allows for conversations that otherwise you won't have. You don't have the filibuster rule in the house because majority party rules. So you don't have that opportunity to have that voice. So, anyway, in the budget reconciliation process, you circumvent that. Getting back to the tax issues, the other thing that was quite important for us was that, again, estate tax relief, restoring a hundred percent bonus depreciation, maintaining the section one seventy nine expensing, allows for qualified capital investments, allowing contractors to choose how to expense and depreciate the capital investments such as machinery and technology to promote investment and innovation in their operation. Extension of the clean energy hydrogen production tax credit. We have a lot of section forty five v, clean hydrogen production tax credit. That would have been terminated. This has been now extended through twenty twenty eight. That's important for a lot of different energy alternatives, and hydrogen is the is the new flavor of the week within the fossil fuel community, and a lot of our members are involved in that when you look at the various crafts from the electricians, the steam fitters, the pipe fitters, etcetera. So there's also tax deductions for auto loans for vehicles that are individuals that may have multiple vehicles on the construction site that we can now can allow for that deduction moving forward. And then all of your deductions, depending on if you're married, joint or not married, single, child tax credit, that's important. And then one of the final pieces that was very important to us within the American Subcontractors Association is allowing for the five twenty nine college savings plan. This is something that we worked on back in the first Trump administration, but this time we clarified it so that if you have a student or a family member that wants to go on to college, you have the college savings plan, the five twenty nine. But say, for example, you've saved that money and that student doesn't want to go on to college, but the student wants to go on to the trades. You'll now be able to use that funding to help support an apprenticeship program, to buy equipment, uniforms, to buy also able to qualify your home care services. That was really a big part of Representative Norcross's push. Representative Norcross is from New Jersey. He's a Democrat, and he's an IBEW member. And he tells the story often that when he was working on the refineries and he was going through a divorce, if not for his parents to drop off his children at four thirty in the morning to be on the job site by six a. M. Because that's what was required. While he was going through his apprenticeship program, he didn't have any other alternative for day care or child care. Now in the one big beautiful bill, the five twenty nine college savings plan can be used for the trades, can be used to reimburse equipment uniforms and allow for home care to be paid for. So those are some of the things that you may not hear about when you hear the name or title One Big Beautiful Bill, but those tax provisions in that bill were critically important. And I am certainly not an accountant by trade, but I had a lot of accountants and economists and attorneys that I worked with that really combed through these provisions and made it clear to our members how important they were. So we supported those provisions. We're happy to see it there, and we look forward to reaping the benefits as we get prepared for the next year's tax season. Awesome. Appreciate all that detail there because, yeah, you definitely don't hear about all those kind of individual items when you're hearing about these large acts or large bills and things like that. Mike, I know we're running a little bit short on time. I hope that I can get one more question in with you before we sign off. So I wanted to dig into workforce training. I know that is a big topic for the ASA. Yeah. No. It's a tough thing or you know, again, the construction is industries are very challenging, but yet energizing industry to participate in. And we are looking at it from all different angles. We've always looked at it because labor is important. We can't complete the work without employees. We have the uniqueness of representing both union and nonunion members, so apprenticeship programs are critical. This five two nine that I just spoke of is one attempt for us to potentially help students that wanna get into apprenticeship programs more engaged. We're also working with our various chapters. We have about thirty six state chapters throughout the country, and I know that they're working very closely with their schools locally, both high school and junior college and on, to see if whether or not these students wanna get involved in the in the trades. There's been a tremendous transformation for where people thought originally, their children may end up, And the trades is and the pendulum has swung, not to say there's anything against getting into the college level courses. But if you wanna get into the trades, we've seen that transformation. Students are getting engaged. They, and these are highly skilled, require highly trained opportunities. So we're looking at that very closely. We're looking at funding to ensure that the Department of Labor has the employee training assistance program available to allow for these apprenticeship programs to move forward. We wanna ensure that the curriculums are available and updated so that, again, we're giving those students that are in the apprenticeship program the opportunity to move forward. We're also looking at it potentially from an immigration perspective and to see how we could potentially work from apprenticeship to citizenship. Because, again, we have a lot of individuals that, would like to become United States citizens or already are United States citizens, but they have others that would like to get involved in the construction trades. So we're looking at it. It there's no silver bullet to handle workforce development issues, but we're working very closely. With our members in congress, again, I mentioned representative Stauber, but we have a construction procurement caucus. There are numerous caucuses in the house and fewer in the senate, but there are a few in the senate. And we use those opportunities in those caucus meetings because they're not as formal as, like, an official hearing, but they do allow for us as to have a vehicle, if you will, to have a conversation with the members of congress to explain to them the importance of the construction industry and explain to them the importance of our workforce development. And then finally, I'll say that we also work with the, we're part of the construction industry procurement coalition along with the construction safety coalition. I'll take the safety coalition first because safety is of utmost concern for our workforce developments. If I have an individual that wants to get into the construction industry look. Washington right now is at a hundred and two degrees. The humidity levels right now are above ninety five percent. So it is very hot. And when you talk about heat and injury prevention standards that OSHA might come out with, we wanna make sure that we're at the table, and that's one of the reasons why we're a part of the safety industry construction safety industry coalition because we wanna ensure that if any administration doesn't matter if it's Trump administration, Biden administration, if you're gonna put rules and regs there, we wanna have the practical experts that are in on the ground explaining to them why it's important that we wanna keep our employees safe. And we also wanna ensure that whatever regulation comes down the pike, it's also cost effective for the employer, which we are. It's also cost effective for the developer or owner that we're working for. And more importantly, we wanna make sure it's cost effective for the safety of our employees. So, again, looking at workforce development from all angles, it's a continual challenge because, again, not everyone wants to get into the skilled trades, but the ones that do find it to be a very energizing opportunity. And I meet with them all the time, and we've done a lot. We've also have some students that come through our apprenticeship programs, through registered apprenticeship, that might wanna go on and have opportunities to go on to receive their associate's degree in applied science, say, in welding or in steam fitting. So the opportunities are endless, but the reality is this is a constant constant issue for us, and we're working on it on a daily basis. Thank you. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate that. Thank you for joining us. To everyone who's listening or watching, thanks for tuning in. If you wanna get involved with the ASA, you can go to a s a online dot com to learn more about that. If you need help managing your projects and finance for your construction business, check out nullify at nullify dot com. We'll be back with another episode soon. Cheers.
Ryan Gilmore:
Hello everyone, and welcome to The Cost Codes Show, presented by Knowify. This is a podcast where we focus on helping trade contractors run and grow their businesses.
Today, I’m excited to welcome Mike Oscar, Director of Government Relations at the American Subcontractors Association. Mike is a fierce advocate for subcontractors, and on today’s episode, he’s going to share some of the work he’s been doing on Capitol Hill to ensure the interests of subcontractors and trade contractors are fairly represented.
How are you doing today, Mike?
Mike Oscar:
Thank you very much, Ryan. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and your audience about the importance of the American Subcontractors Association being involved in the government space, which is something we take very seriously.
I serve as ASA’s National Government Relations Director, and we have a lot of different priorities that we take on one at a time.
Just to give a little background, the American Subcontractors Association is a pivotal entity in the construction industry, representing over 3,500 subcontractors across the United States. Our legislative priorities are aimed at addressing critical issues that impact subcontractors and, by extension, the broader construction sector, where they play an essential role in construction projects.
Ryan Gilmore:
Appreciate that intro and the background on your work and what ASA is doing. Let’s kick things off with the big picture: what’s at stake for subcontractors in 2025 as far as legislation is concerned?
Mike Oscar:
A constant priority is making sure our subcontractor members are paid — and paid on time. We are constantly monitoring that from both a legislative and regulatory perspective.
Specifically, just yesterday, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR, came out with their newly amended version. This was something the new administration said they were going to do, and we want to make sure that whatever they added, deleted, or removed still ensures that on all federal construction projects, there are protections in place so that our members are paid on time.
And if there are change orders — which are ubiquitous throughout the construction industry — we want to make sure those change orders are also paid promptly and on time.
So that’s on the regulatory side.
From the legislative side, we’re looking specifically at legislation that was just reintroduced yesterday by Representative Pete Stauber. He has been a stalwart for us. Representative Stauber is from Minnesota, and he also serves as our co-chair for the Construction Industry Procurement Caucus, which is one of the caucuses supported by the U.S. House of Representatives.
He reintroduced his Small Business Payment for Performance Act, which is legislation designed to ensure that when 50% of a change order is complete, 50% of that change order is paid out. Oftentimes in the contract process, the change order isn’t paid until the entire job is complete. That means our individual members have to carry the cost of that change order for quite a long time while they wait to get paid.
They may have already moved on to another project, while the earlier project is still ongoing. That delay can last multiple months, even multiple years. We want to ensure there is efficiency in the whole payment chain so that our members are paid for the work they’ve completed, and paid on time.
In federal construction work, if we sign a contract, we are obligated to satisfy the requirements of any change to that contract and to the performance of work. So getting paid, and getting paid on time, is very important.
Also, at this time of year, Congress works on the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that funds the Defense Department. Believe it or not, there are a lot of procurement clauses and measures in that legislation that directly impact our members. Many of them do work on military bases across the different armed services.
At the same time, if we’re effective there, it can also have a trickle-down effect at the state and local level. It helps us create precedent for legislation outside the military context that still impacts public projects.
So we’re looking at issues like bonding, public-private partnerships, environmental impact statements, and studies that fall under the purview of the NDAA. We’re watching that bill as it’s being crafted to ensure that our contractor members are protected.
Again, we’re looking at it from both the regulatory and legislative sides, and that’s happening right now in real time.
Ryan Gilmore:
That’s fantastic. Those are a lot of hot-button issues for our customers, who are mainly subcontractors and trade contractors. Especially change orders.
I know the ASA advocates for change-order payment reform through the Small Business Payment for Performance Act. Is that the same thing you were discussing at the beginning of your answer?
Mike Oscar:
Yes, that’s the legislation Representative Stauber has introduced numerous times. But we’re also taking it one step further.
We originally introduced this back in 2018. I understand that we’re in 2025 now — close to seven years later — but legislation takes time. There’s an education process. There are changes in administrations, changes in party control, and changes in who holds the majority and minority. Republicans now control Congress, the executive branch, and even the Supreme Court. That has its benefits, and it has its concerns as well.
We’ve been working with Representative Stauber because whenever he’s offered that legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill, we’ve gotten a thumbs-down from the Defense Department.
They see it as an additional cost because they’re held to yearly budgets, and they also claim it would cost money to upgrade their software to ensure that these payments happen on a more timely basis. We don’t necessarily buy into that argument, and we’ve opposed it.
But the reality is, when the Defense Department says they’re not for something, it becomes very hard to get support.
So we’ve been working on a parallel track with Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who chairs the Senate Small Business Committee. She’s taking the legislation to a different level by looking at it through the lens of unpriced change orders, as opposed to standard priced change orders.
For projects that are $5 million or more, or that are considered on the critical path, the government already has mechanisms in place. Think about post-9/11 Homeland Security projects, for example. Those were critical-path projects. Today, you could think of work related to Space Force — something this current administration considers very important. Contractors are working on those kinds of projects now, and they fall into that category.
So working with Senator Ernst, what we’re trying to say is: if the government already allows for 50% of a change order to be paid at the halfway point on projects of $5 million or more, then why can’t we apply similar reasoning to projects of $5 million or less — which is really where most of our subcontractors operate?
I’m not underestimating the members who do projects over $5 million, but if I’m talking about the majority of our members, most are in that $5 million-or-less range.
We’ve been working closely with her staff. She has a brilliant chief counsel who’s been very involved. She’s convened meetings with some of our subcontractors and with the Air Force. The Air Force has been open to technical corrections. They’re not opposed, but they’re not going to formally come out for or against the bill.
We’re working on that right now because I want to get something done for my members. I don’t believe in supporting legislation just for the sake of supporting legislation.
We have a government affairs committee that’s quite robust — over 90 members — made up primarily of subcontractors, along with some supplier members and attorneys who represent us in the construction law space. They’re directly telling us what their priorities are, and we’ve been working closely to provide strong input to Senator Ernst as she drafts the bill.
The bill isn’t complete yet, but I stay in constant communication with that committee and with our state chapters. We meet four times a year, and beyond that we communicate regularly by email and phone. I also visit state chapters quite often.
They’ve instructed me that they want to take this a step further. We met with Senator Ernst during our fly-in on June 12 in Washington, D.C., and she felt we were moving in the right direction. I continue to talk with her, and she has a big business expo coming up on August 12 in Ames, Iowa, where the Small Business Administrator will be joining. That will be another opportunity for us to keep the conversation moving.
So yes, this is deep in the weeds, and maybe not everyone in your audience follows the process this closely, but this is how it works — through the committee, through our co-chairs, through my board, and through direct conversations with our members.
This is a top priority. Change-order reform is critical, and we want to ensure that reform actually does what it’s supposed to do: get our members paid on a timely basis.
Ryan Gilmore:
Excellent. I appreciate the detailed answer there, and I think our audience will too. It’s great to know you’re approaching this from a two-pronged point of view to get things done.
I want to move on to another topic. I know tax reform is a big one as well. Maybe you could talk a little bit about some of the issues you’re watching this year and how they might impact ASA members and subcontractors at large.
Mike Oscar:
The name of the bill that came out of the budget reconciliation process was the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” You may have heard that in the news.
Regardless of the name, the budget reconciliation process has been used for quite some time by both sides of the aisle. It’s a way to circumvent the filibuster in the Senate, because all you need is a majority. They worked on the bill in the House and finished it in the Senate by July 4, which was the deadline the president put in place.
Similarly, back in 2017, there was also a budget reconciliation bill dealing with many of the tax provisions this current bill addressed. The reason this new bill mattered is because provisions from the 2017 Trump-era bill were scheduled to sunset in 2025. They had put an eight-year horizon on that earlier bill.
So a lot of tax breaks that were very important to my subcontractor members were going to expire. That would have created a tremendous burden if those deductions, credits, and reforms weren’t extended.
Now, I won’t get into the entire bill because it’s massive. But I will say this clearly: ASA did not take a formal position on the entire bill. We were asked about it, and we did participate in a White House video specifically focused on the tax-reform provisions our members supported after meeting with White House officials.
Why? Because we are primarily small businesses. Some of our members are family-owned operations spanning multiple generations, so succession planning and estate planning are very important.
The Section 199A deduction for LLC owners was especially important. That’s a 20% deduction that can be used for capital improvements, administrative expenses, and a host of other business needs. Losing that deduction would have been quite catastrophic for many members.
A lot of our members either operate as LLCs or have LLC entities as part of the broader enterprise — maybe one for trucking, one for warehousing, and so on. That deduction was not only maintained, but made permanent at the 20% level, with no sunset horizon.
I’ll pause there just to note: Democrats also used budget reconciliation during COVID when they were in control. So the pendulum swings back and forth. In my view, it’s less of a partisan issue than a procedural tool to get around the filibuster.
I’m actually an institutionalist when it comes to preserving the filibuster because I think it forces discussion and negotiation. Right now the Senate is 53–47, but to pass most legislation you need 60 votes. That means you have to bring over seven votes from the other side, and while that can stall things, it also creates conversations that otherwise wouldn’t happen.
Back to the tax issues: other important provisions for us included estate tax relief, restoring 100% bonus depreciation, and maintaining Section 179 expensing, which allows contractors to choose how to expense and depreciate capital investments like machinery and technology. That promotes investment and innovation.
There was also an extension of the clean energy hydrogen production tax credit. A lot of our members are involved in that space, especially when you look at trades like electricians, steamfitters, and pipefitters. That credit was extended through 2028.
There were also tax deductions related to auto loans and work vehicles, which matter for contractors who may have multiple vehicles on job sites.
Then there are the broader household deductions depending on filing status — married, single, child tax credit, and so on.
One final piece that was especially important to us was allowing 529 college savings plans to be used for the skilled trades. This is something we worked on back in the first Trump administration, but this time it was clarified so that if a student or family member decides not to go to college and instead wants to pursue the trades, those funds can now be used for apprenticeship programs, equipment, uniforms, and related expenses.
That was a major push from Representative Donald Norcross of New Jersey, who is a Democrat and an IBEW member. He often tells the story of going through his apprenticeship while also going through a divorce, and how important family support was to make childcare and work possible. The updated 529 rules can also help with some home-care-related needs.
So those are some of the things you may not hear about when you just hear the title “One Big Beautiful Bill.” But those tax provisions were critically important to our members.
I’m certainly not an accountant by trade, but I work with a lot of accountants, economists, and attorneys who combed through these provisions and helped make clear to our members how important they were.
So we supported those provisions, we’re glad to see them in place, and we look forward to our members benefiting from them as we head into next tax season.
Ryan Gilmore:
Awesome. I appreciate all that detail there, because you definitely don’t hear about those individual items when people talk about these large bills and big legislative packages.
Mike, I know we’re a little short on time, but I wanted to get one more question in before we sign off.
I wanted to dig into workforce training. I know that’s a big topic for ASA, so maybe you could talk a little bit about what you’re working on there.
Mike Oscar:
The construction industry is a very challenging but also energizing industry to be part of.
We’ve always looked at workforce issues from all angles because labor is essential. We can’t complete the work without employees. One of the unique things about ASA is that we represent both union and non-union members, so apprenticeship programs are critical.
The 529 change I just mentioned is one way we may be able to help students who want to enter apprenticeship programs become more engaged.
We’re also working with our chapters — we have about 36 state chapters throughout the country — and I know they’re working closely with schools at the local level, including high schools and junior colleges, to see whether students want to get involved in the trades.
There’s been a tremendous shift in how people think about career paths for their children. The pendulum has swung. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with college, but we are seeing more students become interested in the trades. These are highly skilled, highly trained professions.
We’re also looking at funding to ensure the Department of Labor’s employee training assistance programs are available to support apprenticeship programs. We want to make sure curriculums are up to date and accessible so that students in apprenticeship programs have the best opportunity to move forward.
We’re also examining the issue from an immigration perspective — looking at how apprenticeship pathways could potentially connect to citizenship. We have many people who would like to become U.S. citizens, and others who are already citizens, who want to get into the construction trades.
There’s no silver bullet for workforce development. But we’re working closely with our members in Congress. I mentioned the Construction Industry Procurement Caucus earlier. There are numerous caucuses in the House and a few in the Senate, and these give us opportunities to have less formal but very productive conversations with lawmakers about the importance of the construction industry and the importance of workforce development.
Finally, we also work through the Construction Industry Procurement Coalition and the Construction Industry Safety Coalition.
I’ll mention the safety coalition first, because safety is absolutely central to workforce development. If someone wants to enter the construction industry, we have to make sure the work environment is safe.
For example, Washington is 102 degrees right now, with humidity above 95%. It’s extremely hot. So when OSHA considers heat injury and illness prevention standards, we want to be at the table. That’s one reason we’re part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition.
If any administration — whether Trump, Biden, or anyone else — is going to put rules and regulations in place, we want the practical experts on the ground involved in those conversations. We want to make sure the rules keep employees safe, are cost-effective for employers, and are workable for developers and owners as well.
So yes, we’re looking at workforce development from all angles.
It’s a continual challenge. But for the people who do get into the skilled trades, it can be an incredibly energizing opportunity. I meet with these workers all the time.
We also see some students come through registered apprenticeship programs and then continue on to earn an associate’s degree in applied science in fields like welding or steamfitting. The opportunities are really endless.
The reality is that this is a constant issue for us, and we’re working on it every day.
Ryan Gilmore:
Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate it, and thanks for joining us.
To everyone listening or watching, thanks for tuning in. If you want to get involved with ASA, you can go to asaonline.com to learn more.
And if you need help managing projects and finances for your construction business, check out Knowify.
We’ll be back with another episode soon. Cheers.
