ASA Supports the Small Business Payment Performance Act of 2022
On Friday, July 1, 2022, Rep. Stauber (R-MN), a member of the House Small Business Committee and the Co-Chair of the House Procurement Congressional Caucus, introduced the Small Business Performance Act of 2022, which ASA helped draft and supports. This legislation would amend the Small Business Act to provide interim partial payment to small business contractors that request an equitable adjustment due to a change in the terms of a construction contract. Equitable changes to the contract, more commonly known as change orders, are ubiquitous on construction projects. Yet contractors and subcontractors on federal construction projects increasingly are frustrated by the slow approval of and the resulting lack of payment for change orders. Indeed, some federal agencies routinely delay the review and approval of all change orders until the end of a project. In the meantime, contractors and subcontractors must pay their own bills including employees, suppliers, and taxes while federal customers delay payment for work performed. This bill would require federal agencies to make interim partial payments to their construction prime contractors for unilateral changes in contract performance directed by the buying agencies. As under the existing Prompt Payment Act, a federal prime construction contractor must pay its subcontractors and suppliers within seven days of receipt of payment from the federal agency for work performed on the unilateral change to the prime contractor. Thank you Rep. Stauber for your leadership on this important legislation and ASA is committed to assist you with advancing it in the 117th Congress.