AGC Opposes Automatic Debarment Amendment On July 16, the House passed the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2015, which funds the General Services Administration (GSA), by a 228-195 vote. The bill includes slight decreases in funding for GSA in FY 2015, as compared to FY 2014. However, the House bill comes in about $700 million less than the president’s request. Of particular note, the House would only fund land port-of-entry projects for Customs and Border Protection through the construction and acquisition account and ignore the facility needs of all other executive agencies completely. To view what projects the House would provide GSA funding for, see pages 57 to 63 of the House Committee Report. To view the president’s request for GSA, click here.

Includes $1 Billion More Than President’s Request Only July 10, the House passed the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015 on a 253-170 vote. Within that bill, the House approved over $5.1 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works program. That figure amounts to $1 billion more than President Obama requested for FY 2015.

On July 9, AGC sent a detailed letter and joined with an industry business coalition in a letter to the House of Representatives strongly opposing legislation automatically debarring federal contractors for any violation—or even claims thereof—of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The legislation came in the form of an amendment introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison (D- Minn.). The Ellison Amendment would prohibit the use of funds allocated under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works and Department of Energy funding bill from being used to enter into a contract with any person who discloses, via the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding that resulted, or could have resulted in a finding of fault and liability related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As of press time, the amendment has not been voted on.

The chief executive officer of AGC of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in response to a report on the condition of the nation's rural roads released by national transportation research group TRIP today.

On July 9, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a record amount of funding for maintaining the nation’s ports and harbors through dredging activities. The House voted 281-137 to pass an amendment by Reps. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) that added $57 million to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

On June 12, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued an interim final rule that increases a number of construction industry small business size standards to account for inflation since 2008.

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the release of a highway funding and tax reduction proposal released today by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): “This proposal provides the kind of long-term funding solutions that virtually every independent, bipartisan commission has said are needed to repair and upgrade our aging transportation network.  As important, by finding the courage to cross aisles and tackle difficult funding questions, the Senators are demonstrating the legislative process at its finest. 

Moves to President’s Desk for Signature This week, both the House – by a vote of 412-4 – and the Senate – by a vote of 91-7 – approved the final Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA).

Action Moves to Senate This week, the House approved several AGC-supported procurement reform measures included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2015, H.R. 4435. The measures would help:

House and Senate Votes Soon On May 15, the House Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committees released a final Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). The House is likely to vote on the final WRRDA bill next week, while the Senate will reportedly take it up shortly after the House. The bill incorporates a number of AGC priorities that the association has consistently advocated for throughout this process, including: