AGC is working to block the inclusion of policies that would negatively impact military construction contractors in a final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill—a must-pass, annual defense bill. The House of Representatives passed its version of the NDAA in September and the Senate is expected to begin floor debate on its version as soon as November 15. Among other things, these policies—if included in the final bill—would: require prime contractors and subcontractors to be licensed in the state of the military construction project; establish local hiring preferences; impose subjective criteria into the suspension and debarment process that would make it easier to blacklist contractors; and require contractors to exceed a 20 percent registered apprenticeship goal.
Congress has passed the NDAA for about 60 consecutive years and, again, it is considered must-pass legislation, which is why AGC is taking seriously any attempt to add harmful construction policy to it. Many members of Congress view the NDAA as the best chance to quickly move their legislative priorities. AGC will continue to advocate for contractor priorities as the House and Senate conference their versions of the 2022 NDAA.
For more information, contact Jordan Howard at Jordan.Howard@agc.org or (703) 837-5368.