Construction Industry Reacts to Democrats' Midterm Sweep

Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, and construction's biggest players are now racing to figure out what a blue House and Senate means for infrastructure money, labor law and the booming data center market.

The stakes have a hard deadline. Infrastructure funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is extended only through Dec. 11, leaving Congress roughly a month to pick between a short-term extension or passage of the BUILD America 250 Act.

What happens to infrastructure funding?

The 2021 law was the last big infusion of federal cash, and nothing has replaced it since it expired.

"Congress made historic progress addressing our backlog of infrastructure needs with passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, but that legislation has since expired and no funding mechanisms have taken its place," Carol Haddock, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to advance America's infrastructure priorities, modernizing the structures that support our way of life."

Deniz Mustafa, senior director of construction advocacy at the Associated General Contractors of America, expects Democratic control to reshape the bill itself — though any new version still needs President Donald Trump's signature.

"It's also likely that they will renegotiate the existing bill, so that means a potential longer timeframe until we see a transportation bill that is signed into law," Mustafa said. "AGC's priority remains a robust, multiyear reauthorization that provides predictable funding, prioritizes core formula programs and gives states flexibility to address their infrastructure needs."

Dean Franks, senior vice president of congressional relations for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, sees one structural check on whatever Democrats want: neither party holds the 60 Senate votes needed to break a filibuster. Any bill, in practice, has to be bipartisan.

"Fortunately, we expect Democratic leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee to use the BUILD America 250 Act, which passed the committee 62 to 2, as a foundation for the surface transportation bill they move, hopefully early, next year," Franks said.

That 62-to-2 committee vote is the strongest signal in the story that a bipartisan vehicle already exists. It also suggests the negotiating fight will be over amendments, not over whether a bill happens.

How do unions and employers line up?

The labor fight is sharper. Associated Builders and Contractors, which represents open-shop contractors, wants the new majorities to reject the pro-union bills at the top of labor's wishlist.

"ABC and its 67 chapters, 24,000 members and millions of workers are ready to work with the new House and Senate majorities, on both sides of the aisle, on real pro-worker policies that protect tax cuts for workers and small businesses and encourage fair and open competition, and to reject union-only legislation like the PRO Act and Faster Labor Contracts Act," said Kristen Swearingen, ABC's vice president of government affairs.

Unions, meanwhile, are claiming credit for the wins themselves. Jimmy Williams, general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, said his members campaigned on the ground.

"I'm proud of the work IUPAT members put in talking to union members about the stakes of this election," Williams said. "Our members knocked doors across the country, directly contributing to the victories of Senators-elect James Talarico in Texas and Troy Jackson in Maine, as well as many other races up and down the ballot."

He framed Election Day as a starting line, not a finish. "We will not stop organizing and will work to ensure that all newly elected officials don't take us for granted and pass the policies we so desperately need, like immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship, a fix to our broken healthcare system, and the PRO Act," Williams said.

Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions, struck a broader tone without naming specific bills.

"Unions helped build America's middle class, and the Building Trades have been and will continue to be central to rebuilding it," McGarvey said. "North America's Building Trades Unions stand ready to work with leaders of both parties who are serious about strengthening American industry, investing in American workers, and advancing policies that deliver lasting economic opportunity for working families. Now it's time to get to work."

What's the so-what for contractors?

Watch Dec. 11. That date forces the first real decision of the new Congress on construction money, and whether lawmakers extend current funding or move the BUILD America 250 Act will signal how fast — and how bipartisan — the sector's next funding pipeline moves.