Congress Approves $8.4 Billion for Military Construction

Congress passed a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021 (NDAA). This bill authorizes $8.4 billion for military construction, family housing, and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) cleanup activities. Earlier this year, AGC, along with a coalition of associations, sent Congress a list of over 130 priorities to consider for the NDAA.

Some noteworthy provisions particular to construction contractors are:

• Includes House Sec. 815. Requires businesses to disclose beneficial owners in a database for Federal agency contract and grant officers.
• Includes House Sec. 831. Transfers the verification of small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans or service-disabled veterans to the Small Business Administration.
• Includes House Sec. 836. Allows subcontractors to elect for such past performance to be considered by a contracting officer, rather than requiring it. Previous versions made the disclosure mandatory.
• Includes Senate Sec. 893. Repeals the requirement from the FY 2020 NDAA which added a twenty percent apprenticeship goal for military construction contractors, including incentives for military construction contractors that implement qualified training programs that exceed apprenticeship goals.
• Excludes House Sec. 828. This section would have included a sense of Congress expressing concern about the roll out of Sec. 889(a)(1)(b) regarding prohibition of covered telecommunication. Instead the bill includes an acknowledgement of DoD’s one-year waiver and directs the agency to consult with the Armed Services committee on any future waivers.
• Excludes House Sec. 829. This section would have imposed a new preference for domestic aluminum acquired through funds administered by DoD, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and Amtrak.
• Excludes House Sec. 832. This provision would have required federal agencies to make interim partial payments to their small construction prime contractors for unilateral changes in contract performance directed by the buying agencies.
• Excludes House Sec. 841. This section would have required all contractors and subcontractors on a military construction contract be licensed in the state where the work would be performed and would institute local hiring preferences.
• Excludes House Sec. 848. This section would have gone beyond the normal debarment process and blacklisted companies that willfully or repeatedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Excludes House Sec. 850. This section would have required DoD to publish on a public website a list of contracts, task orders, or contract modifications related to the wall at the southern border. Instead, the NDAA will require the Secretary of Defense to identify construction or maintenance contracts of the border wall with an estimated value greater than $7 million.

The defense bill is expected to be enacted into law this year, which would mark the 60th year in row. AGC will continue to work with Congress and advocate for further reforms important to federal contractors.

For more information, contact Jordan Howard at Jordan.Howard@agc.org or (703) 837-5368.