March 2026 Vol. 81 No. 3
Features
PCCA kicks off busy 2026 with D.C. Fly-In
By MICHAEL ANCELL
The Power and Communication Contractors Association (PCCA) officially launched an ambitious 2026 agenda in early February with its annual Washington, D.C. Fly-In, where association members pressed lawmakers and their staffs on key items of that agenda: permit reform, power and broadband infrastructure funding, safety, workforce development, along with labor and employment reform.
"If there was one theme that carried through our Fly-In," PCCA Government Affairs Representative Ben Brubeck said, “it was this: the obstacles slowing our industry’s infrastructure deployment are no mystery, and the solutions are bipartisan and achievable."
Besides the Fly-In, PCCA will hold two more annual meetings in 2026: the Annual Convention, in March, at the Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Fla., and the Mid-Year Meeting, in September, at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. At the convention in March, the association welcomes its 2026-27 officers:
- Chairman Craig Amerine, Amerine Utilities Construction
- Chairman-Elect Heath Sellenriek, Sellenriek Construction
- 1st Vice Chairman Chase Lapcinski, Push, Inc.
- 2nd Vice Chairman John Audi, Mears Group
- Treasurer Garrett Akin, Brooks Construction Co.
- Secretary Nick Anderson, Anderson Underground
PUSHING PERMIT REFORM
During a speech at the D.C. Fly-In's opening reception, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, stressed the importance of Congress passing permitting modernization legislation. Last year, the House passed Westerman's Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, a bipartisan National Environmental Policy Act reform bill that would provide certainty, transparency and timely reviews while maintaining environmental protections.
During the Fly-In, PCCA members urged Senators to move on permitting, arguing that lengthy and unpredictable federal permitting continues to delay broadband, energy and power infrastructure projects, driving up costs and slowing deployment. Key Senate committees held hearings in January on permit reform legislation, and they appear poised to take additional action in 2026. However, the Senate vote in early March failed to pass, so lawmakers are regrouping.
But the clock is ticking as lawmakers will soon be consumed by the midterm elections.
"The midterm elections will significantly constrain the congressional legislative agenda by the summer, and the chances of the House changing party control remain very possible," Brubeck said. "In short, Congress needs to pass permit reform legislation by May, and the time for the Senate to act was yesterday."
BROADBAND FUNDING
Broadband construction funded through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program dominated nearly every discussion during the PCCA Fly-In. Members advocated for support for the SUCCESS of BEAD Act and other policy solutions, ensuring that funds saved through the Trump administration’s “benefit of the bargain” reforms remain accessible to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure. PCCA members discussed the desire for streamlined project permitting, more government employees responsible for permit reviews, and improved mapping and locating of underground utilities.
Following the Fly-In, a small group of PCCA members met with leaders from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and echoed many of the same solutions communicated to Congress (safety, permit reform and workforce development) that can be funded by BEAD program savings to ensure effective deployment of broadband infrastructure money. NTIA staff members were particularly interested in developing ideas to support mapping of underground infrastructure and improving locates to enhance safety.
With all the new infrastructure funding, PCCA has been hyper-focused on damage prevention as a founding member of the Infrastructure Protection Coalition and an ongoing partnership with the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). Several PCCA members are in leadership positions at CGA, and the association fully supports the "50-in-5" initiative to cut underground utility damages in half in five years.
At the FlyIin, PCCA members advocated for the bipartisan PIPES Act of 2025, which the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed last year. They also promoted a similar bill that passed out of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025, which awaits a full Senate floor vote. PCCA supports both measures because of strong damage prevention language in Section 18 and Section 221 of the respective bills, although PCCA prefers the language in the House bill.
WORKERS WANTED
During the Fly-In, PCCA members addressed another issue with strong bipartisan support: the need for government funding and promotion of workforce development programs aimed at creating 350,000 net new skilled construction workers to meet industry demand in 2026. Participants highlighted PCCA-supported workforce development provisions in the budget reconciliation bill signed into law in July, which expand the ability of 529 educational savings accounts to cover the costs of workforce development program tuition and materials. The law also expands Workforce Pell to include short-term workforce training programs like apprenticeship, career and technical education programs affiliated with higher-education institutions.
In addition to recently announced grants from the Labor and Education departments, government funding for workforce development, apprenticeship, and career and technical education is set to benefit PCCA contractors and industry partners. While this is a win in the current budget climate, policymakers need to make improvements to maximize funding efficiency and program usefulness for employers, workers, and providers to properly meet the industry’s skilled workforce shortage.
PCCA's Ben Brubeck summed up the Fly-In: "As noted by PCCA leaders at the closing reception and dinner at the Capitol Hill Club, visibility matters as the fate of PCCA policy priorities continues to evolve behind the scenes. Likewise, constituent voices matter, and lawmakers are more receptive when hearing directly from contractors and suppliers who live with the consequences of federal policy, whether it is a stalled broadband project, a labor-shortage for an energy project, or a workplace squeezed by regulatory uncertainty.
"PCCA’s job is to keep showing up, telling our industry’s story, and reminding lawmakers that infrastructure does not get built in hearing rooms – it gets built in the field. And that message, delivered consistently, is starting to stick."
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