On Dec. 17, the Senate passed S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020. This compromise legislation overwhelmingly passed the House on Dec. 9 and will now head to the President’s desk for his signature. This measure includes roughly $11.8 billion for military and military family housing construction. While the bill rejected the Administration’s request for more than $7 billion for border wall construction, it did not include earlier provisions that would have barred the reprograming of funds for projects along the southern border. The agreement also did not include controversial provisions surrounding PFAS substances, instead opting for less stringent measures that give direction to EPA and DOD to regulate.
On Nov. 8, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that makes significant revisions to its mentor-protégé program (MPP). This proposed rule marks the most significant revision of the program since its inception in 2016. The mission of the MPP is to help build a broad base of emerging business enterprises capable of performing high quality construction at competitive prices. The proposed rule would have significant implications for the government contracting community.
On Nov. 8, the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OSD) released part of Version 0.6 of the draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This version includes CMMC Levels 1-3, but not Levels 4-5. According to OSD, “CMMC Levels 4-5 are not included in this release because public comments are still being addressed.” Updates to Levels 4-5 are expected to be provided in the next public release. According to OSD, the CMMC model will continue to be improved with the finalization of Version 1.0 in January 2020. The Department of Defense (DOD) will begin including the final CMMC model as “go/no go” in all solicitations starting in Fall 2020.
Associated General Contractors of America Selected the Kentucky Senator for His Work Overseeing Comprehensive Tax Reform, Eliminating Regulatory Barriers, Approving Pro-Employment Judges and Supporting Key Projects
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the agreement between President Trump, Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer to Pass a $2 Trillion Infrastructure Package:
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in reaction to President Trump’s State of the Union call for new infrastructure investments:
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FAR Council Addresses Many of AGC’s Concerns
On Dec. 20, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued a final rule requiring a prime contractor to notify federal contracting officers if (1) the prime contractor makes a reduced payment to a small business subcontractor or (2) if the prime contractor’s payment to a small business subcontractor is more than 90 days past due. The rule goes into effect on Jan. 19. The FAR Council did not withdraw the proposal as AGC recommended based on a myriad of existing small business subcontractor payment legal protections. However, it did take into account many of AGC’s concerns with the proposed rule.