AGC Procurement Priorities Close to Finish Line, Blacklisting on the Radar
 The House of Representatives and Senate have announced conferees for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (NDAA). The House and Senate conferees must now agree to a final version of the defense bill. The NDAA contains a host of AGC-backed federal construction procurement provisions important to construction contractors. Among the procurement items for AGC and its members in the legislation are:

• Repeal temporary suspension of public-private competitions for conversion of Department of Defense functions to performance by contractors;


• Enhanced post-award debriefing rights to require that all post-award debriefings must provide detailed and comprehensive statements of the agency’s rating for each evaluation criteria and of the agency’s overall award decision;


• Limit contracting officers’ ability to unilaterally definitize action with a value greater than $1,000,000,000, if an agreement is not reached between the contracting officer and federal contractor


• A provision allowing construction contractors to protest non-Department of Defense (DOD) agency task order contracts above $25 million before the General Accountability Office.

Of note, the Senate version of the bill contains a section, sponsored by Sen. Warren (Mass.), that would essentially resurrect the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (Blacklisting) Executive Order.  AGC has met with Senate offices and have worked with the Blacklisting Coalition to ensure this provision does not make it into the final bill.
AGC has long advocated for Congress to repeal the Blacklisting Executive Order through the Congressional Review Act (CRA).  Under the CRA, Congress can repeal the executive order’s implementing rules in their entirety and make it very difficult for a future president to undertake a similar regulatory initiative.  Congress listened and back in March Congress passed – and President Trump signed into law – a repeal of the Blacklisting Executive Order.
AGC will continue to monitor the NDAA as it heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law, and will advocate for further reforms in the new Congress.
For more information, contact Jordan Howard at [email protected] or (703) 837-5368.