Archive for July 2021

Senate Advances Bipartisan Infrastructure Package On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Schumer held a preliminary floor vote (60 votes are required) to limit debate on whether to proceed to a legislative vehicle that would be used to carry the bipartisan infrastructure bill.  Additionally, he set a Wednesday deadline for Senate Democrats to reach agreement on a…

House Completes FY22 Appropriation Bills The House has completed full committee action on all 12 FY22 appropriations bills.  The next phase will begin with plans to consider a seven-bill maxibus. The bills to be considered include:  Labor-HHS; Agriculture-FDA; Energy and Water; Financial Services; Interior-Environment; Military Construction-VA; and Transportation-HUD. The other five bills could also be…

Senate Debates the FY22 NDAA The Senate Armed Services Committee considered their FY22 defense authorization this week, with several contentious topics to be discussed.  Those include a potential, major reworking of the military code of justice, proposals to thwart extremism in the ranks, and arguments over the number of jets and ships the Pentagon plans…

This Week in Congress This week, members of Congress returned to Washington, D.C. to focus on both a bipartisan infrastructure package and a larger, partisan reconciliation spending bill.  Congress begins a likely busy midsummer legislative push, with action expected on a host of priorities like the evolving infrastructure package, appropriations bills and a budget resolution.…

Tradesmen International Continues Their Support of ASA We at ASA would like to give a special shout-out to Tradesmen International for their continued support of the American Subcontractors Association as they have renewed their status as a Silver Sponsor. ASA would not be able to do the incredible work it does without the help of…

ASA Prepares Comments to DOD’s Proposed Rule on Subcontractor’s Past Performance Information ASA and AGC are preparing comments in response to the Department of Defense’s proposal to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 that establishes a requirement for use…

Price Escalation Resources From ConsensusDocs Our friends at ConsensusDocs have new resources available regarding price escalation that are available to ASA members! ConsensusDocs has created a price escalation resource center that includes a brief overview and free resources. The page includes a link the industry only standard contract document price escalation clause, the ConsensusDocs 200.1 Time, and…

The Deficit The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) increased its deficit forecast for the current fiscal year to $3 trillion, the second year in a row hitting that mark after the pandemic relief package became law. The figure is slightly lower than the previous year’s $3.1 trillion and declines further in fiscal 2022 under the new…

House Transportation Bill On Thursday, June 24, 2021, the House voted 221-201 and passed a bill (HR 3684) that would authorize more than $720 billion in surface transportation and water project spending, mostly over five years. The package is considered critical because the current bill is set to expire Sept. 30. House Transportation and Infrastructure…

ASA Family Honors the Life of Brianna Wright We are heartbroken to announce that Brianna Wright passed away peacefully early Saturday morning, July 3rd. Brianna served as Executive Director for the American Subcontractor Association’s Houston Chapter for 24 years. She brought an incredible amount of energy, passion, and spirit to everything she did for ASA…