The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued an interim rule—effective July 25, 2014—that amends the FAR in accordance with the Office of  Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently-issued affirmative action rules for veterans and disabled employees and applicants. Those OFCCP rules went into effect this past March. Contractors who work directly for federal agencies should take note of the inclusion of the new FAR clauses—52.222-35 and 52.222-36—in contracts awarded after July 25.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your Senators to Co-sponsor S. 2652 On July 24, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced S. 2652, a bill that would reasonably limit one-step design-build procurements and the shortlist for two-step design-build procurements. Please take action now and urge your senators to cosponsor and support S. 2652.

After weeks of back and forth between the House and Senate, a short-term extension of the current transportation authorization with a temporary funding patch for the Highway Trust Fund was passed before Congress left town for their August recess. The bill is headed to the president’s desk for his signature.

AGC of America has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) asking the agency to clarify its proposed rule implementing Executive Order 13658 (EO), which establishes a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour for direct federal contractors and subcontractors. The new minimum wage impacts covered contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2015. Federally assisted contractors are not affected. The order also mandates that the Secretary of Labor determine a new minimum wage for federal contractors in 2016, and each year thereafter, based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage and clerical workers.

This week, AGC joined 171 employers and employer associations in a letter supporting the Auto Enroll Repeal Act (S. 2546). This bill was introduced by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and would repeal the automatic enrollment provision under the Affordable Care Act (section 1511).  

On Tuesday, the president signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act into law. The bill easily passed both the House and Senate in recent weeks. The legislation will reform the workforce development system, giving states greater flexibility and strengthening employer engagement. To read more about the law, click here.

Resolution Must Come Before the August Recess On Wednesday, Senate leaders reached agreement on how to proceed with consideration of the short-term highway and transit extension bill, which passed the House last week.  The agreement reached by Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would allow for the consideration of four amendments each requiring 60 votes to pass.  If the amendments do not receive the required 60 votes, the Senate would then vote on clearing the House-passed measure as-is, which would provide an $11 billion transfer to the Highway Trust Fund and an extension of the current transportation authorization (MAP-21) – through May 31, 2015.

GA-Senate Former Dollar General CEO David Perdue came from behind to defeat Rep. Jack Kingston in the U.S. Senate Republican run-off to score what most believe was an upset win for the GOP nomination.  He now faces Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn, who won her own primary back in May.  With just over 480,000 people voting in the run-off contest, Perdue captured 51 percent of the vote.

Today, President Obama announced a new executive action to create the Build America Investment Initiative, a government-wide initiative to increase infrastructure investment and economic growth. As part of the initiative, the administration is launching the Build America Transportation Investment Center – housed at the Department of Transportation – to serve cities and states seeking to use innovative financing and partnerships with the private sector to support transportation infrastructure. 

This week, the House, by a vote of 367-55, approved H.R. 5021, a $10.8 billion Highway Trust Fund patch which provides sufficient revenue to maintain current funding levels through May 2015. The bill also extends MAP-21 authorization for the highway and transit programs for eight more months. It received strong bipartisan support from 181 Republicans and 186 Democrats, while 45 Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against it. Revenue needed to support the patch came from a general fund transfer which was off-set by a variety of tax code adjustments. AGC and our coalition partners in the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) urged the House to support H.R. 5021 to avoid a disruption in payments to states, while urging Congress to take action to enact a long-term transportation bill by the end of the year.