A final rule to implement a Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act requirement affecting federal contractors will go into effect on Aug. 27, 2012. Under the new rule promulgated by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, federal contractors will be required to report the names and total compensation of the five most highly compensated officers under certain circumstances, as well as awards to first-tier subcontractors above $25,000.
Before Congress left town this week for their summer recess, they struck a deal on funding for the government through the first quarter of 2013. The six-month continuing resolution (CR), which will be voted on during one of the eight legislative work days in September, is necessary because Congress has failed to enact any of their FY 2013 appropriations bills. The House has passed seven bills, but the Senate has passed none.
The House passed H.R. 8, which extends the expiring Bush tax cuts, by a vote of 256-171 (19 Democrats voted for the bill and one Republican voted against it). H.R. 8 is the Republican response to the Democrats package that passed last week. These bills are both designed to stake out positions for Election Day – Republicans are for extending all the tax cuts and Democrats are for extending all tax cuts for those families earning less than $250,000.
House Republican leadership continues to delay consideration of a farm bill, which includes $85 million a year through FY 2017 for the Small Watershed Rehabilitation (SWR) program, the nation’s only dam rehabilitation program. This program assists local communities with improving aging flood control dams, thereby helping to address public health and safety needs before a tragic dam failure occurs.
The federal government could lose approximately 270,000 employees, or about 13 percent of the federal workforce, if automatic budget cuts—called sequestration—occur, according to a recent industry group report. Because federal contract officers’ positions are not protected from those cuts, the possibility of agency hiring freezes and layoffs of such essential staff is a distinct possibility. If this happens, agencies could see increased litigation and cost overruns and contractors could see more bundled federal contracts.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 51 – 48 in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts on all but the highest two rates. All but two Democrats (Webb of Virginia and Lieberman of Connecticut – who are both retiring at the end of the year) voted for the package and it attracted no Republican votes.
On July 18, 2012 the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies passed the FY 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) funding bill. The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Education, and other related agencies including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and several important policy changes.
On July 16, AGC sent a letter to the House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Ranking Democrat Adam Smith (D-Wash.) urging them to encourage the Department of Defense (DOD) to issue its report on counting small business participation at all tiers.
With the nation hurtling towards the fiscal cliff, mounting federal debt, the 2001, 2003, and 2010 tax cuts set to expire, the imposition of sequestration and the prospect of hitting the federal debt limit early next year, there seems to be little area of common ground between Democrats and Republicans.
On July 16, AGC filed comments on proposed Small Business Administration (SBA) rules on multiple award contracts (MAC), bundling and consolidation. If finalized, the proposed rules would further streamline and clarify SBA regulations on the books regarding MACs and small business set-asides. Although generally supportive of the proposed rules, AGC made the following points: