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Senate Passes National Defense Authorization Act; AGC Continues to Press for Small Business Reform

On Dec. 4, the Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) by a vote of 98 to 0. As the Senate considerate the legislation, AGC sent a letter to senators urging their inclusion of small business contracting reforms. Among those reforms, AGC especially urged inclusion of: (1) counting small business participation at lower tiers towards the federal small business procurement goals; and (2) addressing the definition a “bundled contract” to include contracts for construction services, thereby forcing federal agencies to justify why they bundle. The House-passed version of the NDAA includes the contract bundling language AGC supports. However, the Senate did not adopt any small business contracting reforms. AGC testified before the House Small Business Committee earlier this year on these important reforms. AGC will work with House and Senate members about its small business contracting priorities during the NDAA conference committee negotiations, likely to begin next week. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.