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Debt Ceiling Debate – The Fiscal Responsibility Act Congress is set to debate the Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3746) with Conservative House Republicans balking at the deal, claiming it does not contain sufficient spending cuts. Progressive Democrats are concerned about the work requirements, some environmental provisions, the energy permitting and spending caps. Defense hawks say…

ENR Launching Annual Specialty Contractor Competitions In October 2023, Engineering News-Record (ENR) will release it’s 46th annual Top 600 Specialty Contractors list to it’s estimated three million unique yearly visitors. Ranked by year-end construction-specific revenue and categorized by the type of construction services provided, the leading subcontractors and specialty trade contractors in the U.S. will…

COVID-19 Rescissions Following is a breakdown of nearly $28 billion that would be rescinded from unspent pandemic relief funds in the debt ceiling bill (HR 3746). Almost half of the funding, $13.4 billion, would come from Health and Human Services accounts, predominantly the “public health and social services emergency fund.” The public health fund would…

This Week in Congress This week, the House voted on legislation that would permanently ban all fentanyl-related substances, which the Biden Administration supports, but some Democrats are concerned such a broad ban would lead to the over policing of people struggling with addiction.  Additionally, the House voted on resolutions that would cancel the Biden administration’s…

Debt Limit Update On Monday evening, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy met at the White House.  Per Speaker McCarthy, “the tone tonight was better than any other time we have had discussions.”  President Biden said he agreed that the session had been “productive.  We reiterated once again that default is off the table and the…

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Considers Supply Chain Bills On Tuesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted on a supply chain-focused package of legislation regarding foreign ownership of U.S. marine terminals, rules for commercial driver’s license exams, allowing some trucks to weigh more, and authorize spending to alleviate a parking shortage for trucks.…

Surety Bonds on P3 Agreements: Sound Public Policy Protections The federal government long has recognized the importance of surety bonding requirements for its direct public works procurements. The federal Miller Act (40 USC 3131-3134), enacted in 1935, and related regulations, require that payment and performance bonds be in place on any direct federal construction contract…

Sen. Carper (D-DE) Announces Retirement On Monday, Sen. Carper (D-DE) announced that he will not seek reelection.  Sen. Carper, 76, is the fourth Democratic senator to announce his retirement, following Sens. Stabenow (MI), Feinstein (CA), and Cardin (MD).  Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., is widely seen as a potential successor to Carper. His departure opens…

Editorial Cartoon: https://www.cleveland.com/ This Week in Congress Congress was in session this week with the Senate tackling nomination votes while the House voted on legislation that would allow immigrants convicted of assaulting cops to be deported (H.R. 2494).  House Judiciary Republicans cited the end of Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that allowed the Trump and…

Debt Ceiling Negotiations Continue President Biden and congressional leaders met this week for a second time to discuss raising the debt ceiling.  President Biden is scheduled to be at the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and then the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Sydney, Australia, meaning he will be away from Washington through at least May…