Archive for July 2022

This Week in Congress The House voted on police reform legislation and finished their legislative activities prior to departing for their August recess.  The Senate debated legislation regarding semiconductor manufacturing, same-sex marriage, and having Finland and Sweden join NATO.  Additionally, the Senate tried to pass a budget reconciliation bill focusing on lowering prescription drug prices…

ASA Raises Concerns Regarding H.R. 2193, the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act This week, the House debated H.R. 2193, the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, which would require OSHA to promulgate a heat exposure standard.  H.R. 2193 is identical to the 2019 legislation, which ASA, along with the Construction…

House Small Business Committee Hearing on the SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program.  ASA participated in the SBA’s 50th Anniversary of the program and during the hearing, Peter C. Gibbs, the former Director…

Latest News from SESCO Managment Consultants   Average Hourly Earnings Decrease 1.0% in June, CPI Increases 1.3% The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 1.0 percent from May to June. This result stems from an increase of 0.1 percent in average hourly earnings combined with…

DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Rulemaking on Prompt Payment and Retainage Monitoring On Thursday, July 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced their upcoming Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Rulemaking on Prompt Payment and Retainage Monitoring. The Department specified the need for recipients to create a mechanism to affirmatively monitor a contractor’s compliance with subcontractor prompt…

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) On Thursday, July 21, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden (D-OR), and Senator Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), comprehensive legislation that would end the federal prohibition on cannabis by removing cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and empowering states to implement their own…

This Week in Congress The House voted on a “minibus” FY23 funding package mostly covering domestic programs including agriculture, energy and water, financial services, interior and environment, military construction and veterans, and transportation.   Additionally, the House voted on legislation to protect access to contraception and same-sex marriage.  The Senate debated legislation providing $52 billion in…

The Small Business Payment for Performance Act Advances Last week, the House passed its annual defense policy bill (the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)) authorizing nearly $840 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2023 with a bipartisan vote of 329-101 vote. Thirty-nine Democrats and 62 Republicans voted against the measure.  A separate version of the…

Upcoming ASA Webinar: “Project Documentation 101” ASA invites you to join us on August 10th, 2022 at Noon Eastern for the upcoming webinar, “Project Documentation 101”, presented by outgoing ASA President Brian Carroll, Managing Partner at Sanderford & Carroll, P.C..  This webinar will help you discover simple and easy ways to document your projects. Primary…

This Week in Congress This week, Congress returned to session debating the annual defense authorization bill and legislation to codify abortion rights, along with holding nomination votes and finalizing negotiations on the COMPETES Act, legislation to increase semiconductor manufacturing.  The FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $839.3 billion in funding and has attracted more…