U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Examine Costly Government-Mandated PLAs Again

0 June 1, 2011  Federal Construction, Uncategorized

On Friday, June 3, at 9:30 AM, the Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing, “H.R. 735 and Project Labor Agreements: Restoring Competition and Neutrality to Government Construction Projects.”

This hearing is the next step in the legislative process towards House passage of the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 735), introduced by Congressman John Sullivan (R-Okla.), which will prohibit the federal government from mandating anti-competitive and costly PLAs on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

H.R. 735 essentially codifies into law former President George W. Bush’s Executive Orders 13202 and 13208, which ensured that taxpayers received the best construction at the best price on over $147 billion worth of federal construction projects and hundreds of billions of dollars of federally assisted construction projects until it was repealed by President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 in Feb. 2009.

Proponents of fair and open competition for federal construction contracts, including Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), are working hard to make this bill a key legislative priority during the 112th Congress.

The hearing will be streamed live on the Internet at http://oversight.house.gov/.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com readers may recall that on March 16, a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) held a hearing on PLA mandates and other regulations harming the construction industry.

Here are the most recent details on Friday’s hearing from a release issued by the House Oversight and Government Reform committee staff:

Title: “H.R. 735 and Project Labor Agreements: Restoring Competition and Neutrality to Government Construction Projects”

Description: The Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform, chaired by Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 735 the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act, introduced by Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla. H.R. 735 restores neutrality into government contracting by nullifying a Presidential Executive Order designed to encourage the use of union labor in government construction projects. The use of mandated Project Labor Agreements increases costs, reduces competition and shuts out small businesses and non-union tradesmen.  You can read a statement from Rep. Sullivan on his bill here. The Oversight Committee heard from American job creators affected by Project Labor Agreements at a subcommittee hearing in March and through AmericanJobCreators.com.

Where: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

Date/Time: June 3 at 9:30am

Witnesses :

Panel One

  • The Honorable Daniel Gordon, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget
  • Mr. David Foley, Deputy Commissioner, Public Building Service, General Services Administration

Panel Two

  • Mr. Maurice Baskin, Venable LLP
  • Mr. David Tuerck, Executive Director, The Beacon Hill Institute
  • Mr. Kirby Wu, AIA, LEED AP, President of Wu & Associates, Inc.
  • Mr. Mike Kennedy, General Counsel, The Associated General Contractors of America

Please check back for additional updates.

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