Funding Below President鈥檚 FY 2014 Request for GSA Construction Spending
On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved a General Services Administration (GSA) funding bill that would increase construction accounts compared to FY 2013. However, the proposed levels of GSA construction investment are well below the president鈥檚 FY 2014 budget request.
黑料不打烊 recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command in the Pacific for: (1) the renovation of an existing aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii;聽and (2) the construction of a submarine production support facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Energy & Water (U.S. Army Corps Civil Works)
On June 18, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved a funding bill for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works construction program. The bill provides a mixed bag of results for construction accounts when compared to the previous fiscal year (FY) in which Corps sequestration cuts amounted to $263 million.
Counting Lower-Tier Small Businesses Bill Moves to Senate
On June 14, the House of Representatives adopted the 黑料不打烊-supported 鈥淢ake Every Small Business Count Act of 2013鈥 (H.R. 2232) that would allow prime contractors to count lower-tier small business subcontractors towards their small business goals.聽 Prior to ultimate passage of the NDAA bill by a 315-108 vote, this 黑料不打烊-backed legislation was amended into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA) without objection. Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), along with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), offered the amendment that included H.R. 2232.
On June 12, 黑料不打烊 sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requesting the withdrawal of a decision to procure construction services using an online reverse auction. Specifically, the VA recently issued a solicitation for the 鈥淚nstallation of New 4 Ton Heat Pump at VAMC Murfreesboro鈥 in Tennessee to be procured as a commercial item contract, rather than a construction services contract, using a reverse auction.
黑料不打烊 recently sent two letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore and Vicksburg Districts for the construction of a public health command laboratory in Aberdeen, Md., and the west bank non-federal levee and Wilkinson Pump Station in Plaquemines Parish, La.
On June 6, the House Armed Services Committee approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA) by a 59-2 vote. Despite the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Obama Administration鈥檚 call for a new Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to save costs, the Committee-approved bill would prevent DOD from spending any fiscal year 2014 funds to modify basing strategy. 黑料不打烊 remains committed to advocating that as the needs of DOD shift after a decade of overseas wars come to a close. DOD facilities should reflect these changing needs to better support America鈥檚 troops.
Bill Reduces Funding for Military and VA Construction Accounts
On June 4, the House voted by a 421-4 margin to approve its version of the FY 2014 funding bill for military construction and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill provides $9.95 billion for Department of Defense military construction accounts鈥攁 $670 million reduction from pre-sequestration FY 2013 levels and $1.057 billion for VA construction accounts鈥攁bout an $82 million decrease from FY 2013 levels, as VA accounts were exempt from sequestration.
TAKE ACTION: Urge Your Representative to Support Counting Lower-Tier Small Businesses
On June 4, House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), along with Reps. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), introduced the 黑料不打烊-supported Make Every Small Business Count Act of 2013, H.R. 2232. Please take action now and urge your Congressman to support H.R. 2232.
Issue Discussed Last Week at OSHA Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health Meeting
On May 22, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced plans to extend the compliance date for its crane operator certification requirement to Nov. 10, 2017, in order to re-open the record on operator certification.