On Sept. 14, the Obama administration released a report to Congress providing a first guess at how they will implement $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts—called sequestration—slated to begin on Jan. 2, 2013. This sequestration process comes as a result of the debt ceiling deal –enacted under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA)—for which background information can be found here and here.
On Sept. 25, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released new information regarding the implementation of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The guidance and interim guidance documents, along with questions & answers, were issued ahead of the Oct. 1 effective date for most highway provisions in MAP-21 both funding and changes to policy.
On Sept. 20, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the need for a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorization bill. 鶹Ƶsubmitted a letter for the record, thanking the committee for beginning work on WRDA reauthorization and highlighting the importance of needed investment in our nation’s flood risk management, inland waterway, marine port and environmental restoration projects.
The next webinar in AGC’s 8-part webinar series, titled “Walking the Compliance Tightrope: How to Meet the Strict Legal Standards for Government Work,” will focus on preventing illegal gratuities, kickbacks and bribes. This webinar will take place on Sept. 13 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT.
The Obama Administration recently announced that seven nationally and regionally significant infrastructure projects will be expedited to help modernize and expand five major U.S. ports, including the Port of Jacksonville, the Port of Miami, the Port of Savannah, the Port of New York and New Jersey, and the Port of Charleston.
On August 14, 鶹Ƶurged members of the Senate Armed Services and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees to include small business contracting reforms as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013. In its letter, 鶹Ƶspecifically highlighted two such reforms: (1) counting small business participation at lower tiers towards small business procurement goals; and (2) addressing the definition of a “bundled contract” to include contracts for construction services, which the House included in its version of NDAA passed earlier this year.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Headquarters recently issued a directive noting limitations on the use of one-step selection procedures for design-build projects. 鶹Ƶhas objected to the use of the one-step process because of, as USACE notes, “the high cost of proposal preparation and the limited likelihood of success when competing with dozens of offerors.” Additionally, over the years, 鶹Ƶnoted that the one-step process has been used for projects not authorized by statute, which USCAE recognizes.
In its recent report to Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation noted that diminishing federal funding over the years has resulted in delays to rural water supply projects. Between 1980 and 2007, Congress directed the Bureau to undertake eleven specific rural water supply projects. Of those eleven, four have been completed in South Dakota and in Montana and seven remain unfinished in North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, Iowa and Minnesota.
When Congress comes back from its August recess, the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee will likely work on reauthorizing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). WRDA authorizes federal investment in and policies for flood control, navigation and environmental restoration projects and has not been reauthorized since 2007, when more than $23 billion was authorized over five years. Contact your representative and senators NOW to tell them it’s time to reauthorize WRDA by clicking here.
On August 8, 鶹Ƶurged the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to reverse a decision to procure construction services using an online reverse auction. Specifically, the National Parks Service (NPS)—an agency within DOI’s jurisdiction—recently issued a solicitation for the “delivery and supply of flexible road base” to be procured as a commercial item contract, rather than a construction services contract, using a reverse auction.