Today, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013 (H.R.4310) that would prohibit the federal government from mandating the use of a project labor agreement (PLA) or favoring a contractor because of the signing of a project labor agreement (PLA).  AGC sent a letter to the House today in support of the amendment. The vote passed (211-209) mostly along party lines with most republicans supporting it and all but one democrat opposing.

The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 53rd commanding general. Previously, Lt. Gen. Bostick served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, U.S. Army. In April 2011, the U.S. Defense Department announced his nomination to the rank of Lieutenant General as well as his assignment as Commanding General, Corps of Engineers and Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army.

The House Armed Services Committee today approved the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 with a host of small business contracting reforms attached to the measure. The reforms AGC supported and advocated for include:

AGC and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) met this week with the House Oversight & Government Affairs Committee to discuss legislation that would severely restrict federal agency participation in conferences hosted by private organizations.  Aside from ASAE, AGC was the only other organization there to fight for continued open discussion with federal agency representatives at private industry conferences and meetings.

Appropriations panels in the House and Senate this week passed legislation that would increase funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) FY 2013 budget over President Obama’s initial request.

One of three amendments adopted during the debate of H.R. 4348. The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II, was a modified version of Congressman Charles Boustany’s (R-LA) Realizing America’s Maritime Promise (RAMP) Act.  H.R. 4348 is serving as the vehicle to get the House to a conference committee with the Senate on their surface transportation reauthorization bill which passed last month.

AGC’s 2012 Federal Contractors Conference attracted nearly 400 people to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with 20 federal agencies and review procurement and contracting issues.

Hundreds of federal construction contractors will descend upon Washington, D.C. next week for AGC’s 50th Federal Contractors Conference with more than 20 federal agencies and a handful of congressional members in attendance. From a legislative standpoint, their timing could not be better. Congress will reconvene after a two week Easter recess and find a number of key construction industry’s legislative priorities on their agenda. Among the issues AGC contractors will learn about and visit Capitol Hill offices concerning are:

General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Martha N. Johnson and Public Building Service Commissioner Robert A. Peck and other GSA officials were forced to relinquish their positions on April 2. The agency overhaul came hours before the release of GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller’s report on an $823,000 training conference held at a casino just outside Las Vegas, Nev.

Don’t Miss Out – Register Today!  The 2012 AGC Federal Contractors Conference will be held April 16-19, 2012, at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. This meeting is the only national event where contractors and federal agency personnel can meet in a collaborative forum to review federal construction contracting issues and trends from around the United States. These insightful and highly productive exchanges have solidified the need for both federal construction contractors and the federal construction agencies to share information on a wide variety of issues, foster better communication, and create real solutions.