Masonry Magazine August 1997 Page. 8
Washingtons
Impact on
Small Business
By Michael Adelizzi
Executive Director
Mason Contractors
Association of America
After one of the most negative elections in which Republican congressional candidates where hammered during the campaign on issues such as medicare, social security and other social issues, and now Democrats facing a widening campaign finance investigation and continued investigations on issues such as Whitewater, the 105th Congress approaches the new year like a swimmer facing a new body of water to jump into. As the Congress slowly puts its toe into the new legislative season, reluctant to take a bold lead on issues, President Clinton appeared just as content on going slow.
Subsequently, key small business issues are still awaiting action by the Congress. OSHA reform, one of the most critical construction small business issues still lacks any legislative initiative while other issues such as estate tax reform seem to be on a quiet path to passage as part of the Balance Budget Compromise hammered out by congressional and administrative negotiators. However, as the leadership of both parties spin a positive light on the compromise budget deal which includes estate tax reform, the passage of estate tax reform is still in question as details of the compromise plan come under scrutiny by members of both parties. Many in Congress are still locked into faction, friction and rancor putting in doubt the future of the budget deal.
Although the spirit of cooperation is pervasive on issues such as the budget compromise, political battle lines have been drawn on smaller issues. Recently, President Clinton signaled a desire to sign an executive order requiring all federal agencies to sign non-binding "project agreements" aimed at giving priority to unionized companies when awarding contracts. Senate Republicans held up the con-
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