The simmering debate over how to cut the federal budget deficit is heating up, with the April 13 release of President Obama's outline for shrinking the budget gap squaring off against House Republicans' deficit-trimming plan, drafted by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) and approved by the chamber on April 15.
Construction officials welcome the fiscal focus. The proposals aim to slash the deficit by about $4 trillion over the next 10 or 12 years and give the economy a lift. Stephen Sandherr, the Associated General Contractors of America's president and CEO, says, “We are in a completely new environment, where for the first time in a long time there is serious attention being brought to bear on the deficit.”