The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the administration’s decisions to finalize two new employment rules despite federal data indicating no need for the new measures:  “The administration’s decision to finalize two new oppressive employment regulations for federal contractors forces us to object to measures whose goals we support and objectives our members already meet.  That is because these rules will force federal contractors to spend an estimated $6 billion a year to produce reams of new paperwork proving they are doing what the federal government already knows they are doing.

AGC Urges Removal of Construction Services Procurement Option On Aug. 13, AGC sent a letter to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) strongly urging the federal agency to remove from its reverse auction (RA) platform the construction services options. GSA recently launched a reverse auction platform that enables any federal agency to conduct the procurement of certain construction services and materials through an online reverse auction.

Late last week, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) announced his intention to release and mark up a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill in September. The chairman also expected the bill to reach the House floor in October.

FAR Council Does Not Remove Contractor PPE Appeal Process On Aug. 1, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued a final rule that all federal agencies adopt uniform past performance ratings and factors based on the ratings and factors used in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).  However, the FAR Council did not remove the right for contractors to seek review of past performance evaluations at a level above the contracting officers, as it had initially proposed. In its comments to the proposed rule, AGC repeatedly highlighted the need to retain this administrative appeal right, among other things.

AGC recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command for to repair facades at: (1) Rickover Hall and (2) Nimitz Library, both located at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

On July 19, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) introduced the AGC-supported Construction Contracting Act of 2013, H.R. 2751, which would prohibit federal agencies from procuring construction services from small businesses through reverse auctions. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced the Design Build Efficiency and Jobs Act of 2013, H.R. 2750, which would limit the second-step of the design-build procurement process to no more than five finalists and limit the use of single-step design-build procurement. Both of these bills apply only to direct-federal agency acquisition and not to state or local agencies.

Funding Below President’s FY 2014 Request for GSA Construction Spending On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved a General Services Administration (GSA) funding bill that would increase construction accounts compared to FY 2013. However, the proposed levels of GSA construction investment are well below the president’s FY 2014 budget request.

AGC recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command in the Pacific for: (1) the renovation of an existing aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; and (2) the construction of a submarine production support facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Energy & Water (U.S. Army Corps Civil Works) On June 18, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved a funding bill for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works construction program. The bill provides a mixed bag of results for construction accounts when compared to the previous fiscal year (FY) in which Corps sequestration cuts amounted to $263 million.

Counting Lower-Tier Small Businesses Bill Moves to Senate On June 14, the House of Representatives adopted the AGC-supported “Make Every Small Business Count Act of 2013” (H.R. 2232) that would allow prime contractors to count lower-tier small business subcontractors towards their small business goals.  Prior to ultimate passage of the NDAA bill by a 315-108 vote, this AGC-backed legislation was amended into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA) without objection. Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), along with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), offered the amendment that included H.R. 2232.