The Associated General Contractors of America is urging the Obama administration to drop a proposal to increase rules governing the employment of U.S. veterans and disabled workers.

“As the data makes clear, veterans and the disabled are already extremely well represented in the construction industry,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “These new rules offer a very costly fix for a problem that, according to the government’s own data, doesn’t appear to exist.”

The administration says veterans and the disabled have a much higher unemployment rate than the general population — a claim the AGC rejects. The association met with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 6 to discuss its concerns. Sandherr said the AGC was optimistic following the talk.

“The fact federal officials are sitting down and listening to groups like ours is a hopeful sign the administration is ready to ask tough questions about whether there is any justification to move forward with these new mandates,” Sandherr said. “So far, all available federal data makes it clear that there is simply no need for these new regulations.”