Washington, D.C. — Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) has joined Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and 17 other colleagues to introduce S.537, the Fair and Open Competition Act (FOCA).
The bill would ensure that the federal government and recipients of federal assistance cannot mandate project labor agreements on federal projects, thereby increasing competition and lowering construction costs for taxpayers.
Senator Budd was the lead sponsor of FOCA when he served in the House.
Sen. Budd said in a statement:
“Government mandates favoring Big Labor are both unfair and extremely costly to the taxpayer. The vast majority of the private construction workforce does not belong to a union, and these workers should not be blocked from doing work on government projects through project labor agreements (PLAs). PLA mandates needlessly increase the cost of government construction projects. Our bill simply says that federal contracts should be open to the company that makes the best bid.”
Background:
FOCA would enhance competition and government neutrality towards labor relations in the following ways:
- Prevent federal agencies from either requiring or prohibiting a contract bidder to enter into an agreement with one or more labor organizations in order to be awarded a federal contract.
- Agencies that award grants, enter into contracts, or provide financial assistance for construction projects would have to ensure that bid specifications and project agreements do not contain any requirements or prohibitions regarding one or more PLAs.
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