The Industry Advisory Panel of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations will meet on Thursday, September 3, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., in Room 1107 of the U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW (entrance on 23rd Street) Washington, D.C. 

This meeting will be open to the public.  The majority of the meeting will be devoted to an exchange of ideas between the Department's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations' senior management and the panel members, on design, operations and building maintenance. 

Prior registration is required because entry to the building is controlled.  Members of the public planning to attend this meeting must enter and exit using the 23rd Street entrance only. To obtain pre-clearance for entry, those interested in attending must provide by August 21, 2009, their name, professional affiliation, date of  birth, citizenship and a valid government-issued picture ID number (i.e., U.S. government ID, U.S. military ID, passport, or drivers license with state) by emailing: iapr@state.gov. 

Because of space restrictions, OBO staff requests that only one representative per company attend.  Additional company representatives will be waitlisted, and fully registered only if space is available at the close of registration.  Registration is conducted on a first-come, first-served basis and can fill up quickly. 

The remaining 2009 IAP meeting is scheduled for December 1.

For further information about the meeting please contact Andrea Walk at walkam@state.gov or on (703) 516-1544.

AGC released results of a survey that measured the impact of stimulus funds on construction companies' ability to expand payrolls.  The survey found that stimulus construction funds have had little impact to date on companies' ability to hire new employees, but has helped companies save existing jobs.

The survey data was announced during a media conference call that included AGC's CEO Steve Sandherr, chief economist Ken Simonson, and several AGC contractor members.

The news has been widely covered by outlets such as Reuters, Christian Science Monitor and The Washington Post.

• Read AGC's press release here.
• View the survey results.
• Read AGC's analysis.
• Listento the conference call during which the results were announced.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC CEO Steve Sandherr recently contacted 27 federal agency heads concerning the pace that Recovery Act dollars are flowing through the agencies and in the form of contracts available for bid. With more than one million construction workers having lost their jobs over the past year, AGC expressed concerns that given the high unemployment rate that remains in the industry - over one million employees, totaling 19 percent - the industry is ready to put the Recovery Act to work.

AGC made inquiries as to whether there are schedules for letting work that we can begin to publicize, whether there are impediments to getting the work on the street that we can work to eliminate, and whether there is any information that we can provide the industry so that contractors are ready to bid these important projects.

AGC greatly values its partnerships with the federal agencies and we look forward to continuing to be a resource as we work together to ensure the recovery of our economy.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

On July 14, 2009, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued a notice of proposed rulemaking implementing President Obama's Executive Order 13502, which creates new FAR contract clauses to be included in Federal contracts should an agency choose to require a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on a particular Federal construction project. Comments are due on August 13, 2009.

In short, the proposed rule (FAR Case 2009-005) would:

• Provide a new FAR Subpart 22.5, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects;
• Add a new provision at 52.222-XX, Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement, to be included in solicitations where the agency has exercised its discretion to require a project labor agreement as prescribed at FAR 22.505(a);
• Add a new clause 52.222-YY, Project Labor Agreement, to be included in contracts in accordance with FAR 22.505(b).

The proposed rule seems to implement the executive order carefully, without expansion, by encouraging (not requiring) agencies to consider (not necessarily adopt) a PLA requirement on large-scale construction projects (defined as projects with a total cost to the federal government of $25 million or more) on a project-by-project basis where certain criteria are met. It expressly leaves to the contracting agency discretion to decide whether or not to require a PLA.

AGC is encouraging agencies to exercise this discretion prudently, leaving the decision of whether to perform the work under a collective bargaining agreement up to the contractor-employers and their employees, as provided under federal labor law. AGC believes that it is inappropriate for public agencies to use their contracting authority to interfere with labor relations among private employers and employees, and explained that position to White House and other officials at a recent meeting about PLAs.

The proposed rule includes standards for all PLAs issued under the rule. These include that the PLA must "allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements." AGC intends to point out in its comments how this ostensibly fair principle is unrealistic, considering the very burdensome changes that a public PLA typically imposes on open shop contractors operations.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

The Senate on August 7 confirmed Ms. Jo-Ellen Darcy as the new Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). Ms. Darcy most recently served as the Senior Environmental Advisor to the Senate Finance Committee.

In her new role, she will have primary responsibility over the Department of the Army's programs for conservation and development of the nation's water resources, including flood damage reduction, river and harbor navigation, environmental restoration and protection, water supply, shore protection, hydropower and recreation.

Previously, Ms. Darcy was the Senior Policy Advisor to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  Prior experience includes service as the Executive Director of the Great Lakes and Water Resources Planning Commission in Michigan, the Assistant to the Director of Personnel for Gubernatorial Appointments for the Governor of Michigan, and Policy Analyst in the U.S. House of Representatives Banking Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

House leaders are beginning the lengthy process of putting together a new Water Resources Development Act ("WRDA") for consideration in 2010. WRDA a is biennial comprehensive water resources law that authorizes studies and projects within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission areas, including navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection and environmental restoration.

On November 8, 2007, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-114) was last enacted into law.  This law addressed a backlog of project authorizations, modifications and studies that had accumulated since the law's previous authorization in 2000. 

AGC has long advocated for timely passage of new WRDA bills to address new project studies and authorizations that have come up over the past two years.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

On July 29, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 passed the full Senate by a vote of 85-9 with six senators not voting. This bill contains the FY2010 funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as the Bureau of Reclamation. The next step is for the House and Senate to reconcile the differences between the two in conference committee.

On July 8, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee reported a $34.27 billion package that is $643 million below President Obama's budget request and nearly $476 million above the FY 2009 omnibus enacted level. The House Appropriations Committee reported its $33.3 billion bill on July 9. The Senate's bill would provide $5.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, slightly less than the House figure of $5.54. This represents a modest increase of approximately $139 million over the FY 2009 and an approximate increase of $416 million over the Obama Administration's request of $5.1 billion.

The Bureau of Reclamation would receive $1.13 billion, slightly more than the House bill figure of $1.08 billion. This represents an approximately $38 million decrease from FY 2009, but an approximate $17 million increase above the administration request.

AGC will continue to advocate for increased investment in the water resources development missions of the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation as this legislation continues through the Congress.

• To review the House FY 2010 Appropriations tableclick here.
• To review the list of the House FY 2010 projectsclick here.
• To read the House Bill Summaryclick here.
• To read the Senate Bill Summaryclick here.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.