WASHINGTON - Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Gulf Coast Rebuilding Coordinator Don Powell recently described the private sector opportunities for revitalization of the Gulf Coast available in the $11.5 billion package of tax incentives proposed in the Bush administration's GO Zone legislation. At a Commerce Department briefing, administration officials and the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi predicted the longest and most intense construction rebuilding program in the nation's recent history.

The Business Roundtable continues to push for its Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative calling for expedited training of 20,000 construction workers in the area over the next four years. The proposed program calls for expedited training in 21 construction crafts, with proposed private and public financing, in union-sector and open-shop training facilities throughout the region.

Publication date: 07/10/2006