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Federal Construction Quality Assurance Bill – Status Update
The Construction Quality Assurance Act of 2009 (Act) was introduced by Representative Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania on July 31, 2009, and is cosponsored by Representatives Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Carolyn Maloney of New York. Subsequent to its introduction, this bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement on October 23, 2009, where it remains pending. While the future of the Act is unclear, if it becomes law, it does include some significant features for those who perform federal construction contracts.
As currently drafted, the proposed Act is intended to assure quality and best value with respect to federal construction projects by prohibiting the practice known as bid shopping. It would mandate that executive agency solicitations of construction in excess of $1 million require bidders to submit the name, business location, and nature of work of each subcontractor with whom such bidder will subcontract for work in excess of $100,000. A bidder who fails to comply with these requirements would be deemed non-responsive and would not be considered for the project. Contractors would be prohibited from substituting another subcontractor for a listed subcontractor, permitting any subcontract to be voluntarily assigned or transferred, or subcontracting work for which the contractor listed itself, without the contracting officer’s consent. Additionally, the Act sets forth examples of good cause and procedures required for substitution requests as well as penalties for violations of such prohibitions, including suspension or debarment from federal courts for multiple violations.
With the 111th Congress on its way out, and with major issues to be resolved in a lame duck session, it is unlikely that progress will be made on this bill until 2011 when the 112th Congress is seated. We will provide updates if there is any further action on this bill.
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