On May 2, AGC sent a letter opposing the possible use of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District for the design and construction of a new 320-person AIT Barracks located at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif.

With the FY 2013 budget in place and the president’s FY 2014 budget released, federal agencies now have a better understanding of the projects coming down the pipe. Many top congressional and federal agency leaders are attending the 2013 Federal Contractors Conference and will discuss their plans. Will you be there to hear what they say and get a jump on the competition?

Military Construction The president’s FY 2014 budget request for military construction on the whole provides a slight gain over FY 2013 funding levels. The president’s proposal includes about a $400 million – or approximately 5 percent – increase for direct service military construction accounts. Additionally, family housing construction and operation and maintenance accounts under the administration’s budget are set to provide approximately $90 million - or 5 percent – more than last year.

On April 9, AGC urged the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to reverse a decision to procure construction services using an online reverse auction. Specifically, the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS)—an agency within DOI’s jurisdiction—recently issued a solicitation for the “Tail Gate Spread Delivery of Gravel” to be procured as a commercial item contract, rather than a construction services contract, using a reverse auction.

This week, AGC sent three letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) around the country.  Specifically, AGC sent letters in response to two USACE PLA inquiries and one NAVFAC PLA inquiry from: (1) USACE Albuquerque District for a project at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; (2) USACE Baltimore District for projects in Utah, Nevada and Colorado; and (3) NAVFAC Southwest for a project at Seal Beach, Calif.

On March 26, President Obama signed the continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2013. The funding measure includes spending cuts that were part of the $85 billion in across-the-board cuts under sequester, but allows some agencies to move funds around to different accounts, providing a limited degree of agency flexibility.

In addition to discussions with lead personnel representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Overseas Building Operations, and more, this year’s 2013 Federal Contractors Conference attendees will hear from a panel of construction industry and federal agency experts on public private partnerships (PPP) for both horizontal and vertical projects. 

On March 20, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously approved a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). This bill represents a bipartisan effort to address our nation’s aging navigational system of inland waterways, coastal harbors and ports, locks and dams, and flood control protections and a commitment to restore critical environmental areas.

AGC Forecast Confirmed: Over $4 billion in Federal Construction Cuts On March 1, Congressional leadership and President Obama failed to reach a deal to avert the $85 billion in automatic and indiscriminate budget cuts, called sequestration. Consequently, the president signed an order initiating the spending cuts late Friday evening.  ENR Engineering News-Record recently reported that the cuts will exceed $4 billion in federal construction funding, as AGC previously forecasted in its sequestration report. 

Tell Congress to avert the across-the-board and indiscriminate cuts totaling $4 billion to federal construction accounts for FY 2013 scheduled to occur under sequestration.  Unless Congress enacts a repeal or delay by March 1, sequestration—spending cuts totaling $85 billion for the rest of FY 2013, and about $1.2 trillion over 10 years—will begin.