Posts by Jenny Harris

ASA Protects our Nation’s Vital Water Infrastructure by Supporting H.R. 1740 ASA protects U.S. taxpayers, subcontractors, small businesses, and workers by supporting H.R. 1740. This legislation ensures the common use of payment and performance insurance bond protections are applied on water infrastructure projects where federal funds are being used. Ultimately, H.R. 1740 would help ensure…

Click Here to Register for this Webinar Today! Upcoming ASA Webinar: U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of the National Ombudsman Join us on November 14th, 2024, at Noon Eastern for the presentation, “U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of the National Ombudsman”, presented by John Kelly. If you’re a small business, association, or not-for-profit and are…

The House Announces the Construction Procurement Caucus The House Administration Committee approves the Construction Procurement Caucus (CPC) as a Congressional Member Organization (CMO) of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 118th Congress. The Committee has determined that both the described purpose of the organization and the registration information appear to be in full compliance…

This Week in Congress This week was a rare moment in Washington, D.C., a return to normalcy in Congress with both chambers in session.  There’s a Speaker, no immediate government shutdown looming, and both chambers scheduled a fairly routine legislative schedule.  In the spirit of Halloween, I hope this is not “a trick,” but maybe…

Supplemental Funding Request This week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken testified on the Administration’s $106 billion package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and border security funding.   Republicans raised questions about whether assistance for Israel should be sectioned off and voted on as a stand-alone bill.  House Speaker…

Government Funding Beyond November 17th… With the current continuing resolution (CR) expiring on November 17th, there will need to be another funding extension to avoid a government shutdown. Speaker Johnson said he was prepared to back a CR through January 15th to allow enough time to complete full-year bills and avoid the specter of another…

The House’s Three Disciplinary Measures The House voted on three disciplinary measures against members of both parties this week, including Rep. Santos (R-NY). Santos’ fellow New York Republicans are seeking to expel him from the House over the federal criminal charges he’s facing.  Rep. D’Esposito (R-NY) notified the House last week of his intent to…

NLRB Announces Final Joint Employer Rule The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its final rule altering the standard for determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The rule replaces the Board’s 2020 final rule, which had addressed the standard adopted by the Obama-era Board in Browning Ferris Industries (BFI). We’re going through the rulemaking and…

Congressional Action on AI A group of senators led by Majority Leader Schumer met with President Biden to discuss next steps in Artificial Intelligent (AI) regulations. The President issued an executive order to set a standard on safety, security, and transparency of artificial intelligence systems. Under the order, companies that train AI through foundational models…

Fiscal 2024 Federal Procurement Spending Exceeds $762 Billion Fiscal 2024 federal procurement spending is estimated to be $762 billion to $870 billion, which would be about 7.9% above the fiscal 2022 total ($707 billion). Due to Defense Department delays, there is not complete procurement data for fiscal 2023. Using seasonally adjusted historical spending trends, the…