Members of the House and Senate recently formed a caucus in their respective bodies dedicated to addressing issues of importance to the Mississippi River Valley and Tributaries region. Among those issues, the caucus will seek to raise awareness of water resources issues, including the enactment of a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill. Go to AGC’s Legislative Action Center to urge your members of Congress to join the caucus and support water resources and infrastructure projects.
鶹ƵWebinar: Thursday, Feb. 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs continues to boast an annual construction budget of over $1 billion. As a result, the VA remains a federal owner with work for contractors, especially small businesses. But, many small business contractors have had difficulty even obtaining needed verifications to bid the work.
鶹Ƶwill hold a special roundtable session that provides attendees with an opportunity to give input on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Safety Manual (EM-385) revision process directly to USACE and Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) safety representatives. The roundtable will be held April 24 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET during the 2013 鶹ƵFederal Contractors Conference at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Since Election Day, 鶹Ƶhas sent nine letters opposing the possible use of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) around the country. In the last week alone, 鶹Ƶhas sent letters in response to three USACE PLA inquiries from: (1) the Los Angeles District on a project at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.; (2) the Baltimore District on projects within the Baltimore-Washington Corridor; and (3) the Louisville District on a project at Fort Campbell, Ky.
On Jan. 14, 鶹Ƶhosted representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, General Services Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in a roundtable discussion with industry groups on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration of new nationwide rules that would expand and strengthen the current federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Program requirements. Specifically, EPA is looking at expanding the LRRP Program to include renovations of both the exteriors and interiors of public and commercial buildings.
The 2013 鶹ƵFederal Contractors Conference will be held April 23-25, 2013, at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. This meeting is the only national event where contractors and federal agency personnel can meet in a collaborative forum to review federal construction contracting issues and trends from around the United States. These insightful and highly productive exchanges have solidified the need for both federal construction contractors and the federal construction agencies to share information on a wide variety of issues, foster better communication, and create real solutions.
On Jan. 8, 鶹Ƶsent two letters opposing government-mandated project labor (PLA) inquiries posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). USACE sought industry comments on possible PLAs for projects outside of New Orleans, La. and Los Angeles, Calif. The former project involves levee work as part of the hurricane protection system and the latter is for the replacement of a JP-8 Bulk Fuel Storage at Edwards Air Force Base.
On Jan. 3, 鶹Ƶsent a letter opposing a government-mandated project labor (PLA) inquiry posted by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington. NAVFAC Washington sought industry comments on a possible PLA for a project at the National Security Agency site in Annapolis, Md. The job is for the construction of a naval medical clinic.
An independent review board commissioned by the Department of State (DOS) recently reported that, in light of the Benghazi attacks, DOS facility upgrades must be addressed with additional funding (access report by clicking here). Among its recommendations, the board recommends that “the State Department work with Congress to restore the Capital Security Cost Sharing Program . . . to approximately $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2015, including an up to ten-year program addressing that need, prioritized for construction of new facilities in high risk, high threat areas.”
On Jan. 4, 鶹Ƶwill host a meeting during which 鶹Ƶmembers will provide their comments on the second draft of the EM-385 revision (Corps Safety Manual). The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET and likely end in the late afternoon. After 鶹Ƶmembers discuss their comments to the draft, members will voice their concerns to representatives from both USACE and NAVFAC.