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.
While the bill was on the House floor, AGC sent a letter encouraging members of Congress to support amendments increasing funding for GSA’s Public Buildings Fund. In addition, AGC noted its strong opposition to an amendment that would automatically debar a federal contractor for a violation—or even an accusation thereof—of the Fair Labor Standards Act. For more information on AGC’s effort against automatic debarment on this, click here.
The Senate has not passed any of the 12 annual appropriations bills to date. It is considered unlikely that the Senate would pass its version of the GSA funding before the election. As such, the likelihood of a continuing resolution that freezes spending levels from FY 2014 is increasingly likely as the November election approaches.
|
GSA Accounts |
FY 2012 |
FY 2013* |
FY 2014 |
FY 2015 President’s Request |
FY 2015 House Bill |
|
Construction & Acquisition |
$50,000,000 |
$50,000,000 |
$506,178,000 |
$745,449,000 |
$420,460,000 |
|
Repairs & Alterations |
$280,000,000 |
$280,000,000 |
$1,076,823,000 |
$1,256,738,000 |
$965,817,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$330,000,000 |
$330,000,000 |
$1,583,001,000 |
$2,002,187,000 |
$1,386,277,000 |
*Please note that these GSA accounts did not experience sequestration cuts in FY 2013.
|
GSA Repairs & Alterations Account Breakdown |
FY 2014 |
FY 2015 President’s Request |
FY 2015 House Bill |
|
Major Repairs & Alterations |
$593,288,000 |
$666,472,000 |
$402,282,000 |
|
Fire & Life Safety Program |
$30,000,000 |
$40,000,000 |
$40,000,000 |
|
Energy & Water Retrofit & Conservation Measures |
$5,000,000 |
$40,000,000 |
n/a |
|
Consolidated Activities |
$70,000,000 |
$100,000,000 |
$100,000,000 |
|
Basic Repairs and Alterations |
$378,535,000 |
$390,266,000 |
$378,535,000 |
|
Judiciary Court Security Program |
n/a |
$20,000,000 |
$20,000,000 |
|
Real Property Disposal |
n/a |
n/a |
$25,000,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$1,076,823,000 |
$1,256,738,000 |
$965,817,000 |
For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at 703-837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.