Calls for Congressional Repeal These Agency Policies
On November 15, AGC urged Congress to repeal—under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)—burdensome federal agency policies, including the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) multi-employer citation policy, the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) bid preference policy for construction project proposals including project labor agreements (PLAs), and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) guidance seeking to hold individuals in construction firms criminally liable for company offenses. A recent decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed what AGC informed Congress of last November: that Congress may repeal not only final rules under the CRA, but also agency guidance and policies.
Collectively, these policies place unnecessary and unreasonable risks on contractors, often driving up the cost of construction. The OSHA multi-employer citation policy has created a confounding web of risk for prime contractors, often considered controlling employers responsible for the miscues of other contractors on the jobsite. GSA is the only federal construction agency that provides a 10 point bid preference for proposals with PLAs. And, the DOJ policy encourages prosecutorial fishing expeditions, instead of calculated enforcement efforts to address the actions of bad actors.
AGC has previously encouraged the administration to address these policies and will continue to work with both Congress and the agencies to repeal them.