AGC of America's Specialty Contractor Council Steering Committee is looking for members like you to raise your hand and lead. AGC volunteers share their expertise, facilitate change, and work together to address industry issues. Your input and ideas are critical to moving our industry forward and making a real difference.
Impact on Construction Unclear
Tonya Jackson has over 25 years of experience in the areas of business development, marketing, and sales. Jackson is a 16-year veteran of RA-LIN and Associates Inc., a Georgia construction management firm, where she works as a business development manager. She serves on the AGC of America Business Development Forum Steering Committee as well on the board of directors for Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, Douglas County Education Foundation and Douglas County Schools Partners in Education; WellStar-Douglas Hospital Authority Board; University of West Georgia Foundation; committees of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; and the Society of Marketing Professional Services.
On September 22, President Trump issued an “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” While the EO does not establish a blanket prohibition on diversity and inclusion (D&I) training of employees by government contractors, it does set forth restrictions on the content of such training. The U.S. Department of Labor must undertake a rulemaking to implement the terms of the EO and that rulemaking could put forth a better understanding of the restrictions required under the EO before it can take effect. AGC continues to review the EO and will provide additional information.
Regulatory Rule Published
While not ideal, enactment of a short-term continuing resolution (CR) will ensure federal agencies remain open and ongoing projects for direct federal contractors (e.g., those with contracts directly with the U.S. Army Corps, Navy, General Services Administration, etc.) remain uninterrupted through December 11. However, federal construction projects that need fiscal year 2021 funds to begin or start a new phase are prohibited from moving forward. That does not mean that all or many direct federal construction projects will grind to a halt, because the majority continue to utilize funds from previous fiscal years (thus falling outside the new project starts prohibition). Fully funding the government will be back at center stage in December. Nevertheless, AGC has resources available to your company in the event of a partial or complete federal government shutdown: What Contractors Should Know in the Event the Government Shuts Down.
Delay until September 30
On August 13, a federal prohibition on the use of certain telecommunications components took effect. The new Interim Final Rule (IFR), often referred to as “Section 889 Part B,” prohibits federal agencies from entering into, extending, or renewing a contract with a contractor that uses any equipment, system, or service that utilizes certain Chinese companies’ telecommunications equipment or services as a component or critical technology of any system, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted. The Department of Defense issued a memo on this measure, explaining that federal contractors should expect change orders or other required affirmations of a contractor’s compliance with this prohibition. On July 1 and July 15, AGC, along with a coalition of stakeholders, called on Congress to extend the date of implementation and to make key changes to the rule.