This week the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a waiver of Section 1605, or the Buy American requirements, in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects using Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) funds and Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) funds.The Recovery Act appropriated $1 billion in funds to states and local governments to carry out eligible activities on an expedited basis. The Recovery Act also appropriated $2 billion for the second round of NSP2, ''[f]or the provision of emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes.''This waiver provides that HUD will accept any other agency's waivers and well as any waivers from other HUD programs. They also waive entirely the Buy American requirements for public housing projects with less than 8 units, when the grant size is less than $100,000, or any project that is substantially under construction or contract prior to receipt of funds. These exceptions were made on the basis of the of the "Public Interest" option of potential waivers provided in Section 1605(b).This waiver joins others HUD has issued for the Capital Fund Recovery Formula and Competition (CFRFC) grant funds  and a project specific waiver for the Boston Housing Authority's HOPE IV project.For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

AGC member Joel Zingeser (Grunley Construction Co. Inc., Rockville, Md.) today testified before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management regarding contracting with the federal government. Chairwoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) held the hearing in order to examine the small business programs of the Architect of the Capitol, the General Services Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution.Zingeser's testimony focused on several contracting reform policies that AGC has advocated for including better accounting of subcontractor participation, contract bundling, HUBZones and agency consistency.For more on the hearing, click here.

A rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to use the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' E-Verify system to verify their employees' authorization to work in the U.S. is now in effect.  The rule applies to federal solicitations and contract awards government-wide beginning September 8. The FAR Council issued the final rule in November 2008.  In response to a legal challenge to the rule and in order to give the new administration time to fully review the matter, the government agreed to suspend the rule on three separate occasions, but, in a July 8 statement, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS will "push ahead with full implementation" of the rule without further delay. The rule requires the insertion of a new clause in certain federal contracts and subcontracts.  Prime contracts below the simplified acquisition threshold of $100,000 and those with performance terms of less than 120 days are excluded.  The clause requires the contractor to use E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all new employees hired during the contract term and all current employees assigned to work on a federal job within the U.S.  It also allows, but does not require, the federal contractor to use E-Verify to confirm eligibility of all employees, regardless of whether they are assigned to work on a federal job.  Currently, use of E-Verify to confirm anyone other than a new hire (including applicants and current employees) is prohibited. The rule applies only to employers with direct contracts with the federal government and, via a flow-down requirement, to their subcontractors.  It does not apply to employers working only on federally funded projects or on other projects not under contract with a federal agency.Although the litigation continues, contractors are advised to carefully review all new solicitations and contracts for federal projects and comply with any E-Verify requirements at this time.  AGC will continue to monitor all related litigation and legislation and will report on significant developments.Click here for the E-Verify Supplemental Guidance for Federal Contractors issued by USCIS on September 8.  Click here for DHS's list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for Federal Contractors and E-Verify.  Click here for more information about critical components of the rule.  Click here for information about free webinars on the E-Verify program.Further guidance on immigration compliance is available in an MP3 download of a live educational session held at AGC's Annual HR Professionals Conference in June 2008.  An immigration law update will also be provided at AGC's next HR Professionals Conference, which will take place October 27-29, in Atlanta, Ga. Click here for conference details and registration.

On August 13, AGC submitted comments on the July 14, 2009 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council notice of proposed rulemaking, which implemented President Obama's Executive Order 13502 to create new FAR contract clauses to be included in Federal contracts should an agency choose to require a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on a particular Federal construction project.The proposed rule encourages (not requires) agencies to consider (not necessarily adopt) a PLA requirement on large-scale construction projects (defined as projects with a total cost to the federal government of $25 million or more) on a project-by-project basis where certain criteria are met. AGC's comments focused on this vague and subjective set of requirements agencies had to meet to impose a PLA on a project. AGC also pointed out that the agency requirement that the PLA must "allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements" is ostensibly a fair principle, but is unrealistic, considering the very burdensome changes that a public PLA typically imposes on open shop contractors operations.The comment period on the proposed rule relating to project labor agreements was subsequently extended for 30 days, with a new deadline of September 23. If you would like to submit your views, you can send comments by mail to General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (VPR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4041, ATTN: Hada Flowers, Washington, D.C. 20405, or by fax to (202) 501-4067. Comments can also be submitted online via the federal eRulemaking portal by clicking here.Read more about AGC's Comments and the Proposed Rule here.

The first reporting deadline for the Recovery Act is October 10, 2009 and covers all contracts and funds from February 14 to October 1, 2009. Section 1512 of the Recovery Act requires information about the project and the jobs it creates, plus salary disclosure for certain federal contractors, to be reported to the central federal Web site, www.federalreporting.gov.At 12:01 A.M. on August 17, 2009, that Web site went live. Recipients of Recovery funds are now able to register as the first step in the reporting process mandated by the Recovery Act. To register, recipients must already have a DUNS number and CCR number.Registration will continue through September 30, 2009, with reporting officially beginning on October 1, 2009 through October 10, 2009. For more information on the reporting requirements contained in the Recovery Act, click here (for federal contractors), here (for federally-assisted work) and here (for more information about the reporting process). For OMB's guidance and forms associated with reporting, see OMB's recipient reporting information.

The White House on July 29 formally unveiled contracting and workforce reforms that are designed to save the taxpayers at least $40 billion a year. The reforms, released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), focuses on three areas: improving acquisition, managing the multi-sector workforce, and contractor performance information.Previously, President Obama established in a March 4 memorandum his principles for contracting reform, and charged the OMB with identifying the best approaches to accomplish his goals.The guidance requires agencies to reduce contracts by a minimum of seven percent, with special focus on "high-risk" contracts, such as non-competitive contracts and cost-reimbursement contracts. The guidance also requires agencies for the first time to track contractor performance through a new unified database, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) located at www.ppirs.gov. The White House reports that Federal agencies will be able to check on a contractor's past performance before signing a new contract with it. OMB will be monitoring their compliance with this requirement and will be publicly release statistics on agency compliance.The guidance on managing the multi-sector workforce lays out a new framework for managing the workforce that evaluates all the functions an organization performs to assess if an agency has achieved the best combination of public and private labor resources to serve the American people. Agencies will be required to pilot this new framework by examining at least one program, project, or activity where the agency has concerns about over-reliance on contractors.A second phase of contracting guidance is scheduled to be released in September. This next phase will focus on maximizing competition, choosing appropriate contract types, building the capacity of the federal acquisition workforce, and clarifying when outsourcing is appropriate.AGC will continue to engage with key Administration decision-makers and contracting leaders on Capitol Hill as these issues further develop.For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

The Industry Advisory Panel of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations will meet on Thursday, September 3, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., in Room 1107 of the U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW (entrance on 23rd Street) Washington, D.C. This meeting will be open to the public.  The majority of the meeting will be devoted to an exchange of ideas between the Department's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations' senior management and the panel members, on design, operations and building maintenance. Prior registration is required because entry to the building is controlled.  Members of the public planning to attend this meeting must enter and exit using the 23rd Street entrance only. To obtain pre-clearance for entry, those interested in attending must provide by August 21, 2009, their name, professional affiliation, date of  birth, citizenship and a valid government-issued picture ID number (i.e., U.S. government ID, U.S. military ID, passport, or drivers license with state) by emailing: iapr@state.gov. Because of space restrictions, OBO staff requests that only one representative per company attend.  Additional company representatives will be waitlisted, and fully registered only if space is available at the close of registration.  Registration is conducted on a first-come, first-served basis and can fill up quickly. The remaining 2009 IAP meeting is scheduled for December 1.For further information about the meeting please contact Andrea Walk at walkam@state.gov or on (703) 516-1544.

AGC released results of a survey that measured the impact of stimulus funds on construction companies' ability to expand payrolls.  The survey found that stimulus construction funds have had little impact to date on companies' ability to hire new employees, but has helped companies save existing jobs.The survey data was announced during a media conference call that included AGC's CEO Steve Sandherr, chief economist Ken Simonson, and several AGC contractor members.The news has been widely covered by outlets such as Reuters, Christian Science Monitor and The Washington Post.Read AGC's press release here.View the survey results.Read AGC's analysis.Listento the conference call during which the results were announced.For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC CEO Steve Sandherr recently contacted 27 federal agency heads concerning the pace that Recovery Act dollars are flowing through the agencies and in the form of contracts available for bid. With more than one million construction workers having lost their jobs over the past year, AGC expressed concerns that given the high unemployment rate that remains in the industry - over one million employees, totaling 19 percent - the industry is ready to put the Recovery Act to work.AGC made inquiries as to whether there are schedules for letting work that we can begin to publicize, whether there are impediments to getting the work on the street that we can work to eliminate, and whether there is any information that we can provide the industry so that contractors are ready to bid these important projects.AGC greatly values its partnerships with the federal agencies and we look forward to continuing to be a resource as we work together to ensure the recovery of our economy.For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

On July 14, 2009, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued a notice of proposed rulemaking implementing President Obama's Executive Order 13502, which creates new FAR contract clauses to be included in Federal contracts should an agency choose to require a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on a particular Federal construction project. Comments are due on August 13, 2009.In short, the proposed rule (FAR Case 2009-005) would:Provide a new FAR Subpart 22.5, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects;Add a new provision at 52.222-XX, Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement, to be included in solicitations where the agency has exercised its discretion to require a project labor agreement as prescribed at FAR 22.505(a);Add a new clause 52.222-YY, Project Labor Agreement, to be included in contracts in accordance with FAR 22.505(b).The proposed rule seems to implement the executive order carefully, without expansion, by encouraging (not requiring) agencies to consider (not necessarily adopt) a PLA requirement on large-scale construction projects (defined as projects with a total cost to the federal government of $25 million or more) on a project-by-project basis where certain criteria are met. It expressly leaves to the contracting agency discretion to decide whether or not to require a PLA.AGC is encouraging agencies to exercise this discretion prudently, leaving the decision of whether to perform the work under a collective bargaining agreement up to the contractor-employers and their employees, as provided under federal labor law. AGC believes that it is inappropriate for public agencies to use their contracting authority to interfere with labor relations among private employers and employees, and explained that position to White House and other officials at a recent meeting about PLAs.The proposed rule includes standards for all PLAs issued under the rule. These include that the PLA must "allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements." AGC intends to point out in its comments how this ostensibly fair principle is unrealistic, considering the very burdensome changes that a public PLA typically imposes on open shop contractors operations.For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.