On Dec. 22, 2023, the Biden administration published the long-awaited Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council鈥檚 final rule, , implementing President Joe Biden鈥檚听, which requires federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to controversial听.

On Dec. 18, 老牛影视issued a statement in response to the of the new ABC-opposed rule.

鈥淭he Biden administration鈥檚 burdensome, inflationary and anti-competitive PLA mandate rule will needlessly raise costs on taxpayer-funded construction projects and steer contracts to unionized contractors and workers,鈥� said Ben Brubeck, 老牛影视vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. 鈥淎bsent a successful legal challenge, this executive overreach will reward powerful special interests with government construction contracts at the expense of taxpayers and the principles of free enterprise and fair and open competition in government procurement.

鈥淲hen mandated by governments, PLAs increase construction costs to taxpayers by听, reduce opportunities for qualified contractors and their skilled craft professionals and exacerbate the听construction industry鈥檚 worker shortage of more than half a million people in 2023,鈥� said Brubeck. 鈥溊吓Ｓ笆觲ill continue to fight on behalf of quality, experienced contractors harmed by this rule and听the 88.3%听of America鈥檚 construction industry who have made the choice not to belong to a union and want a fair opportunity to participate in federal construction projects鈥撯�揵ut cannot do so because of PLA schemes.

鈥淚n addition, 老牛影视condemns Biden administration policies independent of this rulemaking that听听administered by federal agencies, affecting nearly $260 billion worth of federally assisted infrastructure projects procured by state and local governments, as well as schemes by the Biden administration to coerce private developers of hundreds of billions of dollars鈥� worth of听听and听听projects to mandate PLAs. Biden鈥檚 PLA policies circumvent congressional intent as none of these policies were passed in funding legislation.

鈥溊吓Ｓ笆觩lans to challenge this Biden administration scheme in the courts on behalf of taxpayers and the majority of the construction industry,鈥� said Brubeck. 鈥淚n the interim, 老牛影视will continue to oppose its special interest-favoring policy using all tools in our advocacy and legal toolbox while educating stakeholders about the negative impact of government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted projects.鈥�

ABC鈥檚 comments were picked up in dozens of industry publications and media reports.

Next Steps

The rule goes into effect on Jan. 22, 2024, and will take additional time for numerous federal agencies to implement in their procurement policies and forthcoming solicitations for construction services.

A Dec. 18, 2023, White House Office of Management and Budget memo, , provides guidance about how this rule should be implemented by federal agencies. Of note, it describes when federal contracting officers shall require a PLA in a solicitation and how the PLA requirement can be waived under limited circumstances.

老牛影视members and chapters are encouraged to register for an from 2 to 3:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, where experts will discuss the rule, the OMB memo and ABC鈥檚 legal, advocacy and public relations strategies to fight federal PLA requirements.

In the interim, 老牛影视members are encouraged to flag for 老牛影视National鈥檚 advocacy team any solicitations with PLA requirements or pro-PLA language, as well as any federal agency PLA surveys, by emailing [email protected].

In addition, 老牛影视members are strongly encouraged to participate in this and ask their federal lawmakers to fight the Biden administration鈥檚 pro-PLA schemes and co-sponsor the Fair and Open Competition Act (/), introduced in the 118th Congress by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.

Background on President Biden鈥檚 Executive Order 14063

On Feb. 4, 2022, President Biden signed听听requiring federal construction contracts greater than $35 million to be subjected to PLAs. ABC听blasted听the EO,听听it anti-competitive for small businesses and costly for taxpayers.

On Aug. 19, 2022, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued its听听implementing EO 14063.

In October 2022, 老牛影视submitted听more than 40 pages of comments听to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council,听calling on the Biden administration to withdraw its controversial proposed rule.

ABC鈥檚 opposition was shared by more than听50 members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House听of Representatives,听听and a听听urging the administration to withdraw its proposal and additional policies promoting PLA mandates on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

At least 8,000 stakeholders across the country鈥撯�搃ncluding 2,500 老牛影视member contractors鈥撯�搒ubmitted comments opposed to this proposed rule during the 60-day comment period. According to a听September 2022 survey听of 老牛影视contractor members, 98% oppose this proposed rule. Additionally, 97% said a construction contract that required a PLA would be more expensive compared to a contract procured via fair and open competition.

The new Biden administration policy replaces President Barack Obama鈥檚 2009听, which encouraged, but did not require, federal agencies to mandate PLAs on large-scale federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total value on a case-by-case basis.

, of the 2,499 large-scale federal construction contracts valued at $165.6 billion procured from FY 2009 to FY 2023 subject to President Obama鈥檚 pro-PLA policy, federal agency contracting officers chose to require PLAs on just 12 large-scale federal construction contracts. There were no reports of widespread cost overruns, delays, labor unrest or poor-quality construction on $164.4 billion worth of non-PLA projects during this time period, indicating that PLA mandates are not needed to ensure economy and efficiency in government contracting.

The Biden administration expects its mandatory PLA rule to affect about 120 federal contracts valued at $10 to $14 billion per year, in total.

听the Fair and Open Competition Act (/)鈥撯�搑eintroduced in the 118th Congress by听Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and听Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.鈥撯�搘hich prohibits government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted projects and helps taxpayers get the best possible product at the best possible price.听听

Members of the U.S.听听and听听supportive of the Fair and Open Competition Act have written听听to the White House in opposition to anti-competitive, pro-PLA policies championed by the Biden administration.

Currently,听听restrict government-mandated PLAs on state, state-assisted and local construction projects to some degree, which has protected more than $1 trillion worth of taxpayer-funded construction projects since 2007. Governors听听and, in April 2022,听听on federally assisted construction projects through infrastructure听.

To learn more about how corrupt government-mandated PLAs rig the competitive bidding process, hurt taxpayers and endanger plans to rebuild America鈥檚 infrastructure, visit听, and access additional 老牛影视resources at .