On June 3, AGC’s general counsel testified in Congress in support of H.R. 735, the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act.
The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended the comment period to June 8 on its proposed revisions to the truck driver hours of service regulations to allow for comment on four new studies related to driver fatigue. AGC is reviewing the studies and will supplement the comments AGC has already submitted on the proposed rule change. FMCSA’s proposed rule suggests the following changes:
On June 2, key officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Air Force, Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command held an open industry forum to discuss their plans to create an evaluation factor for Total Ownership Costs (TOC) of certain types of facility construction.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing June 3 on the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act, sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.).
On May 27, Congressional leaders in both the Senate and House of Representatives introduced legislation to prohibit federal agencies from collecting or using information about political contributions made by small, family-owned businesses or larger companies that wish to do business with the federal government.
The House cosponsor number has grown from 36 during the week of the AGC convention to 140 this week.
On Monday, a bill that would have raised our nation’s debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion failed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 97-318. The outcome of the clean debt ceiling vote was never in question. The House Republicans used the vote as an opportunity to ensure that an increase in the debt limit – which must be raised by August 2 – will be accompanied by significant spending cuts and budgetary reform.
On June 1, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Council issued an interim rule that changes procurement regulations to meet the goals of President Obama's October 2009 Executive Order. The interim rule also incorporates parts of a similar Executive Order issued by President Bush in March 2007.
Nearly 500 construction industry executives participated in the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) fly-in this week, visiting with Senators and Representatives about the need to pass long-term transportation reauthorization legislation with additional revenue to prevent a significant drop in federal transportation investment.
On May 20, 2011, AGC sent a letter to the Hawaii District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers providing comment on their solicitation regarding the potential use of project labor agreements (PLAs) for the FY11 PN65650 USARPAC Command and Control Facility, Phase 1, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, project.